The level of warehouse commitments rose 9.6 percent on a sequential basis in the second quarter as originations increased in the primary market, according to figures compiled by Inside MortgageFinance. Overall, commitments edged up to an estimated $30.0 billion across the industry. But compared to the same period a year ago, commitments fell a bloodcurdling 26.8 percent, reflecting the downdraft in the overall origination market over the past 12 months. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance over the past few weeks, usage rates improved...[Includes one data chart]

Production of conventional mortgages – those eligible for sale to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as jumbo loans – grew at a faster rate than the government-insured market during the second quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. Origination of conventional-conforming mortgages increased by 24.4 percent from the first quarter, climbing to an estimated $153.0 billion. While that continued to account for the biggest chunk of new business – 52.1 percent – the biggest proportional increase in new lending came in the jumbo mortgage sector, where new originations jumped 34.1 percent during the second quarter. Production of government-insured mortgages, including FHA, VA and rural housing loans, increased...[Includes two data charts]

“When you get guidance, you don’t always like everything you get," said Bob Davis of the American Bankers Association.

It appears that PennyMac Financial Services is in the market to buy MSRs...

The FHFA IG job candidate must be able to withstand "moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather."

Analysts at FBR & Co. view the ban as an “earnings issue” because “replacement financing would likely be more expensive than existing financing.”

Bipartisan Legislation Would Increase Threshold for CFPB Supervision. Right before Congress took off for its summer recess, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana introduced S. 2732, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Examination and Reporting Threshold Act of 2014. The act would increase the current $10 billion asset threshold figure at which regulated depository institutions are subject to direct examination and reporting requirements of the CFPB to $50 billion. “The higher threshold would be substantially the same as the threshold for a bank to be designated ‘systemically important’ (i.e., assets of $50 billion or more),” said attorney Barbara Mishkin, of counsel with the Ballard Spahr law firm, in a recent client note. CBO Pegs ...

September 4: The Financial Stability Oversight Council, of which the CFPB is a member, is scheduled to convene for a closed session on Thursday, Sept. 4. The preliminary agenda includes a discussion of nonbank financial company designations, consideration of the council’s fiscal year 2015 budget, a discussion of the council’s work on asset management, and an update on the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s recent review of resolution plans submitted by large, complex banking organizations. September 8: The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are due to return to Capitol Hill the week of Sept. 8. Lawmakers will be faced with a shrinking window of opportunity to consider numerous CFPB-related bills that have been passed by the ...

CFPB Makes New Senior Hires. Last week, the CFPB announced it was bringing mortgage industry veteran Patricia McClung on board as assistant director for mortgage markets. Prior to coming to the bureau, McClung worked at the FHA as a senior housing policy advisor, after a stint at Realtors Property Resource, a technology subsidiary of National Association of Realtors. The majority of her career was spent at Freddie Mac. Janneke Ratcliffe joins the CFPB as assistant director for financial education. Since 2005, Ratcliffe has served as executive director at the Center for Community Capital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ratcliffe’s career includes a 10-year stint at GE Capital in mortgage and mortgage insurance. Meanwhile, Will Wade-Gery has ...

CFPB, Other Feds, Issue Guidance on Unfair or Deceptive Credit Practices. In another changing of the regulatory guard, the Federal Reserve is repealing its Regulation AA (unfair or deceptive acts or practices), as per the mandate of the Dodd-Frank Act, reflecting the fact that the CFPB has inherited the Fed’s authority over such practices. At the same time, the Fed joined the CFPB, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in issuing joint interagency guidance on the subject. The guidance notes that while the Federal Trade Commission’s credit practices rule remains in effect, the credit practices rules for banks, savings associations, and federal credit unions are being repealed as ...