Progressives and other “Dump DeMarco” advocates are looking to a “Plan B” to replace the current acting head should Rep. Mel Watt’s nomination be significantly prolonged or even stall.

Ocwen had $155 billion of subprime servicing contracts at the end of the first quarter, more than double its next closest competitor.

One of the largest USDA mortgage lenders in the U.S. is giving the boot to third-party loan brokers.

The bulk servicing market continues to heat up. MountainView is out with two new deals.

The Mortgage Bankers Association wants lower guaranty fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but is willing to barter for them.

While non-agency MBS participants largely oppose a credit rating assignment system proposed by Sen. Al Franken, D-MN, some of the main players in the market endorse a model based on ratings rotation. At a roundtable hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, Martin Hughes, CEO of Redwood Trust, said issuer-paid rating conflicts could be reduced by requiring non-agency MBS issuers to alternate rating services so that one firm didn’t rate more than two consecutive deals from the issuer. He noted that Redwood has established a self-imposed rotation between Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s on its non-agency MBS issuance. “The requirement to frequently alternate among the nationally recognized...

Real estate investment trusts are beginning to scale back their investments in MBS. Meanwhile, some are hunting for MSRs.

Since the housing bust, the Federal Reserve has purchased roughly $1.1 trillion of MBS backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

HUD wants the authority to fix the government's ailing reverse mortgage program.

Hedge funds are paying as much as 20 cents on the dollar for preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Meanwhile, the GSE buyback war is not over yet.