What does the seller of the MSRs think about what's going on with the DFS? A spokesman for the nation's largest lender and servicer told IMFnews: "Wells Fargo has not been a party to any discussions with the New York Department of Financial Services regarding Ocwen."

Some mortgage brokers see the switch to a mini-correspondent as their only way to stay in business due to provisions in rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The ATR survey was sent to 53 mortgage-originating entities, mostly mortgage bankers with some independent mortgage brokers and other originators. No credit unions or savings and loans responded.

In an earnings call this week, company founder and Executive Chairman Bill Erbey offered no further insight as to when the sale will be approved.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ordered the two GSEs to sell at least 5 percent of their “less-liquid” mortgage assets, meaning whole loans and non-agency securities. CMBS are arguably the most liquid of these.

Investment banking firms have made a killing the past three years doing “spin-offs” for Ocwen and its peers. If Lawsky continues on what’s perceived by banking executives as a witch hunt, the spin-offs could end…

Ocwen founder Bill Erbey said agreements between the nonbank servicer and firms it has spun off have been fully disclosed and the relationships operate on an arm’s length basis.

For the full year, Freddie posted net earnings of $48.7 billion, but executives at the GSE promised those profits will never, ever be achieved again.

Walter Investment, the parent of Green Tree, said it anticipates meeting with the regulator in the near future to get a better understanding of its concerns and to see if the matter can be resolved.

The retail share of new residential originations declined slightly, to 60 percent, in the fourth quarter after climbing steadily during the first nine months of the year.