The distribution of FHA borrower credit scores continued the migration seen in previous quarters, though at a slower pace in 1Q14.

Industry reaction to the FHFA IG report on nonbank and small lender risk was swift. Maybe Fannie Mae is better off having Countrywide as its biggest customer again?

A significantly bigger Ginnie Mae would be placed in charge of all MBS issued with a government backing while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be wound down and stripped of their government sponsorship under a bill filed last week by House Democrats. The legislation – the Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act, H.R. 5055, sponsored by House Democrats John Delaney (MD), John Carney (DE) and Jim Himes (CT) – has zero chance of gaining traction this year. It would create a new Ginnie Mae MBS backed by conventional mortgages that would have the full faith and credit of the federal government while tapping private capital to absorb some of the risk. The new structure under the Delaney-Carney-Himes bill would create...

Lenders are being careful about costs, but rising loan volumes could force some firms to hire, at least a little bit.

Did to raise cash in a tough origination market? Sell your MSRs.

Over five years, Fannie and Freddie would be wound down, but would be allowed to be sold and recapitalized as private entities with different business plans.

Nationstar Mortgage ranked first among non-agency MBS issuers, but its volume was tied to servicer advances.

Luckily, JPM’s Jamie Dimon doesn’t care about such silly thing as mortgage rankings. (And he's not a big fan of FHA either.)

The nation’s megabanks reported fairly strong mortgage earnings during the second quarter thanks to a jump in new originations, robust servicing revenue and expense cuts. If the results reported by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are any indication, the industry may be rebounding from a rough stretch in late 2013 and early 2014. But the first quarter of this year was so bad – and originations so weak – that lenders had no place to go but up. Larry Charbonneau, a warehouse lending analyst, said...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau late last week said it will take a close look at mortgage brokers acting as mini-correspondents, particularly if they are just trying to get around disclosure requirements and limits on broker compensation. The CFPB is concerned that some mortgage brokers are claiming to be mini-correspondent lenders by establishing warehouse funding lines when they are still essentially just facilitating a transaction between a borrower and a lender. “While some brokers may be setting up such arrangements because they intend to grow into full correspondent lenders, the bureau is concerned...