National MI, the Emeryville, CA-based mortgage insurer started by former executives at The PMI Group, has yet to write its first policy, but may soon.

What We’re Hearing Certain mortgage bankers are using a four-letter word to describe the trifecta of “final” regulations unveiled by the CFPB the past two weeks, and as you might guess that word isn’t “love.” The rules – servicing, qualified mortgages and loan originator compensation – will shape the industry for years to come... plus other mortgage industry happenings.

Real Estate Mortgage Network is on the verge of launching a new correspondent division what will use the trade name HomeBridge, a company official told Inside Mortgage Finance.

Bank of America, which is in the process of selling roughly $308 billion worth of mortgage servicing rights, recently trimmed its servicing staff by at least 700 workers...

Envoy Mortgage, a privately held nonbank, is the latest lender to jump into the correspondent lending arena. On Wednesday the firm issued a statement saying it has hired two industry veterans – Dan Hastings and Todd Cheney – to build and run the new division. Formed in 1997, Envoy has been a retail-only lender funding in 48 states… Plus other mortgage news briefs.

The White House has placed former federal housing commissioner Nic Retsinas on its list of possible candidates to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, industry officials familiar with the matter told Inside Mortgage Finance.

Forget (for now) the story about Bank of America scuttling the sale of $14 billion of high-touch mortgage servicing rights. Inside Mortgage Finance is hearing that over the past several weeks the megabank was looking to unload upwards of $300 billion in MSRs, or at least talking about it to select buyers. BofA, as we pointed out, doesn’t talk about its servicing sales, though it does acknowledge them (sometimes) in its earnings calls with analysts.…

In an email message to his members on Friday, Mortgage Bankers Association president David Stevens noted that the fiscal cliff deal “does not substantially limit the mortgage interest deduction” but “it does phase out itemized deductions for certain higher income households.”

Impac Mortgage, one of the fastest growing funders among the top 100, has hired Mike Casey and Matthew Dismore to bolster its correspondent lending division.

Promontory Financial this week laid off between 750 and 1,000 workers in the Denver area, many of them working on loan reviews tied to delinquent and foreclosed mortgages, industry sources told Inside Mortgage Finance.