A new poll on the Inside Mortgage Finance website tells the story: Just 24 percent of respondents want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac taken out to the Jersey Meadowlands by Luca Brasi. (Leave the gun, take the cannolis.)

An East Coast-based warehouse executive, requesting anonymity, said he has approached his credit board about such a change, and his waiting to hear back from them.

Only about 27.7 percent of Ginnie Mae first-quarter volume were refinance loans, and the refi share of the overall market fell to an estimated 44.3 percent, Inside Mortgage Finance found.

State regulators note that their concerns about nonbanks relate to significant growth in recent months prompted in part by increased capital requirements for banks.

The Center for American Progress, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and other groups want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to survive and are persuading several Democratic politicians to side with them. As for the GOP...

Mortgage bankers increasingly are complaining about a lack of homes to buy as one reason why originations are down this year.

Construction-to-permanent loans are picking up a head of steam in certain markets. “Down here [in Florida] it’s extremely hot,” said Joe Adamaitis, vice president and residential lending manager for Insignia Bank.

Banks that extend warehouse lines of credit to nonbank originators saw their commitment levels fall 39 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, yet another sign that the origination market was extremely weak during the first three months of 2014. On a sequential basis, commitments dropped a more benign 10.8 percent, but it’s not unusual for some firms to keep a line open, even if they’re not utilizing their power to borrow. According to Inside Mortgage Finance estimates, banks and nonbanks had $27.0 billion in warehouse commitments on their books as of March 31, compared to $31.0 billion on December 31, and $45.0 billion a year ago. One active warehouse bank had...[Includes one data chart]

It’s a buyer’s market for mortgage firms these days, and former Cole Taylor Mortgage Chief Executive Willie Newman couldn’t be in a better place: He’s teamed up with Stone Point Capital, a hedge fund that has committed several hundred million dollars to the purchase of residential lenders. “We have a lot of plans,” Newman told Inside Mortgage Finance. “We plan to be in originations, servicing, capital markets and multi-channel production.” It was...

Former employees of the firm told IMFnews that they are perplexed as to why the company’s owners did not file a bankruptcy filing in federal court.