Mortgage executives are praying that even though eminent domain plans have been talked about and brought to a vote in a handful of cities, that it never gets used.

Nonbank mortgage servicers continued to grow their portfolios during the fourth quarter of 2013, as market stalwarts pulled aside and gave them room to accelerate, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Nine nonbank companies ranked in the top 30 mortgage servicers as of the end of last year, and they held an estimated $1.69 trillion in mortgage servicing. Several of the top nonbank lenders have not yet reported fourth-quarter earnings, and the group’s total servicing could be higher as more data come to light. Moreover, most of the nonbanks have pipelines of pending bulk and flow acquisitions, meaning they will continue...[Includes one data chart]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to streamline its post-examination reporting, apparently in response to banker concerns about prompt feedback regarding lender compliance with federal consumer financial laws. In a new supervisory highlights report, the CFPB said it would stop using written recommendations – opting for oral, on‐site guidance instead. The bureau also will combine all issues it expects a bank to address into a single section called “matters requiring attention.” The agency also decided...

The Treasury Department’s surprise move in the summer of 2012 to rewrite the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements it had with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was an “unlawful” action that could have a far-reaching impact well beyond the shareholders of the two government-sponsored enterprises, according to an attorney representing shareholders. Speaking Wednesday at a forum sponsored by Ralph Nader’s Shareholder Rights advocacy group, attorney Ted Olson of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher said Treasury’s Third Amendment to the PSPA was a calculated effort by the Obama administration to ensure that GSE stockholders got nothing, according to internal Treasury documents they obtained. The amendment replaced the quarterly GSE dividend payment with a net-worth sweep of all company profits. Perry Capital, represented by Olson, is...

Graham Williams, CEO of Mortgage Resolution Partners, a firm that has achieved notoriety in the mortgage industry for trying to use eminent domain to seize underwater loans, is moving on. But that doesn’t mean the concept of municipalities using the legal strategy is going away. “I’m transitioning out of the CEO job,” Williams told Inside Mortgage Finance. “The company will continue on.” Asked whether a CEO search is underway, he said he didn’t know. As Inside Mortgage Finance went to press this week, there were...

The Federal Reserve’s move to reduce its purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities may eventually change the relative costs and benefits of financing new production through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. “We’re in an environment where I think banks are going to get interested in at least the more attractive credit risks and holding those in portfolio,” said Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, DC. “So, to me, the most important question going forward over the next two years for the MBS market is how much of this [new production] is going to make its way into MBS and how much will be held on balance sheets as whole loans.” Calabria predicted...

Morgan Stanley notes: “The agreement in principle is subject to final approvals by the parties. In connection with the settlement, the company will record an addition to legal reserves of $150 million, which will have the impact of reducing income..."

The nation’s third largest FHA servicer also admitted that it failed to inform the government mortgage insurers when its own internal reviews discovered more than 500 defective loans that never should have been submitted for coverage.

“This situation consisted of sexually charged behavior and comments from the supervisory staff and participating mortgage bankers, which resulted in a sexist and uncivil atmosphere,” the EEOC said of the JPM workplace.

Federal regulators have, for all intents and purposes, completed their work on the qualified residential mortgage standard. This means the final rule’s release could be imminent.