The FHFA MMI is in better shape? So what, says critic Ed Pinto. He believes that huge problems remain.

Do mortgage insurance firms need to be "officially" regulated by the federal government?

As a technical matter, Edward DeMarco still heads FHFA and the agency is once again testing the waters for lower Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limits.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and other trade groups are hopping mad at FHFA's latest December surprise: higher LLPAs.

Ed DeMarco of FHFA pulls a 'Beyonce' with the higher LLPAs. Meanwhile, we're hearing that Met Watt may be sworn in by early January.

Compared to June 30, MBS investments by REITs are off 6 percent. Moreover, the industry has lost nearly all of the huge volume of MBS that were acquired in early 2012.

“In our view, the primary risk associated with some lenders being less than fully prepared for QM could be temporary loan production delays,” the consulting firm adds.

CashCall, once a top ranked refi specialist, is owned by mortgage industry veteran Paul Reddam.

Loan broker Anne James, who runs Reliance Funding in Wittier, CA, told us recently that “I have wholesale lenders calling me daily to sign up.” She notes, however that “Loans are not dropping out of the sky” but adds that she’s getting quite a few calls for second mortgages.

Whether a given mortgage meets the criteria of a qualified mortgage under the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule, in and of itself, will not be considered a safety- and-soundness issue, according to joint supervisory guidance issued late last week by federal financial regulators. Nor will QM status – or the lack thereof – be a make-or-break issue in terms of Community Reinvestment Act compliance, the feds added, echoing similar guidance issued back in October. “From a safety-and-soundness perspective, the agencies...