The Mortgage Bankers Association is eager to see McKernan and Pulte confirmed.

A portfolio manager said if agency MBS investors aren’t kept in mind during the GSE reform process, the changes could hit investor demand for GSE MBS, having a negative impact on homebuyers.

Anthony Hsieh, chairman, founder and controlling shareholder of loanDepot, is returning to senior leadership as executive chairman of mortgage originations at the nonbank.

Only 12 banks reported a loss from their mortgage-banking operations in the fourth quarter.

Goldman issued a similar deal with home equity lines of credit in October.

"Nothing about the current CFPB situation changes the fundamental obligation [of lenders] to collect and report lending data," said Kareem Saleh, CEO of FairPlay.

To this point, identifying loans for voluntary partial cancellation has been done manually.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, said responses to her questions from both Jonathan McKernan, nominee to lead the CFPB, and Bill Pulte, nominee to lead the FHFA, were disqualifying.

Most of the fourth-quarter activity came from the Federal Reserve’s efforts to enhance its holdings of Freddie Mac paper.

Rep. Mike Flood, R-NE, pointed to regulations (largely at the state/local level) and the cost of materials as the main drivers limiting the supply of homes for sale.