Two Harbors, a REIT, has been aggregating, on average, $300 million of jumbo mortgages per month.

Although depository institutions continued to account for the lion’s share of the mortgage servicing market, nonbank servicers continued to gain ground in late 2014, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Banks, thrifts and credit unions accounted for 71.8 percent of the $7.351 trillion of home mortgages serviced by the 50 largest players in the market as of the end of last year. Nonbank servicers accounted for 28.2 percent of the group total, up from 25.9 percent at the end of 2013. That’s...[Includes two data charts]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made a few industry hearts skip a beat last week when it proposed loosening some of the parameters of the ability-to-repay rule for small lenders and for those providing credit to rural and underserved communities. Under the bureau’s proposal, small lenders could hold an unlimited number of mortgages in portfolio without sacrificing their “small creditor” status under the ATR rule. In and of itself, the change isn’t that big a deal. But what really captured some industry representatives’ imagination was the possibility that it might represent a liberalization of the bureau’s attitude toward portfolio loans in the context of the ATR rule and more concessions ahead. Under the CFPB’s proposal, the definition of “small creditor” would expand...

Seven of the 10 largest servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program were unable to process the number of HAMP modification applications they received in November, according to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. SIGTARP first raised concerns about servicers’ slow processing of HAMP mods in September. In a report released last week, the SIGTARP took the Treasury Department to task for not doing enough to address the issue. “Treasury must ensure...

A significant percentage of mortgage industry professionals think President Obama’s estimate that 250,000 borrowers will benefit from the FHA annual premium reduction is “too high” and that the impact will be minimal, according a new survey by the Collingwood Group. The monthly survey said 47 percent thought the estimate is too high and the price cut is not enough to generate a substantial number of new homeowners given that credit standards remain tight. They also said that the 50 basis point reduction in the annual premium is insufficient to make financing affordable. Meanwhile, 34 percent thought...

FHFA chief Mel Watt noted: “In Treasury’s view, it’s a legislative decision” to change the terms of the bailout agreement.

G-fees range from 50 to 55 basis points. Prior to the housing bust, some seller/servicers had g-fee payments as low as 12 basis points.

The Mortgage Choice Act was passed by the GOP-held House in June, but failed to move through the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Last year, the mortgage industry cautioned HUD against assessing a fee to fund certain risk management improvements in the FHA program.

Any monkeying with the GSE charters must get past two of the most powerful lobbying groups in all of housing finance...