Taken as a barometer of industry activity, Wells Fargo's prediction is hardly good news for a business that is facing an ugly 40 percent decline in fundings this year.

The Nationstar spokesman noted that Rodgers’ production duties were assumed by Chad Patton, a senior executive for business development at the nonbank lender.

It appears that CashCall is getting closer to finalizing a deal to sell some of its production assets to the publicly traded Stonegate Mortgage.

The negative results on residential production mean more lenders are relying on servicing rights to carry them through the tough times.

Loan modifications that reduce principal and interest payments by at least 10 percent perform significantly better than other mods, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky also questioned the efficiencies touted by nonbank mortgage servicers, countering that “technology alone does not keep a family in its home."

But would Guaranteed Rate ponder a sale? No, said company executive Ted Ahern. “We’re not for sale. We intend to stay that way.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association continues to trim its production forecast for 2014 as the year progresses. Still, some lenders are hopeful and most of them are nonbanks.

Apparently, CitiMortgage wants to grow its presence in the origination market, including the correspondent channel where it has a slight pulse.

There is a tradeoff between taking on more higher-risk loans and raising g-fee prices, FHFA official Bob Ryan noted, and the calculation has to take into account other players in the market, such as the FHA.