A modest decline in FHA endorsements of jumbo loans in the fourth quarter of 2012 could presage further declines this year, following the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s recent proposal to raise the downpayment requirement to 5 percent, from 3.5 percent, for loans above $625,500. The FHA already has raised its jumbo mortgage insurance premiums to 1.55 percent annually and increased the monthly premiums on new, non-jumbo FHA mortgages by 10 basis points. The agency retained the 3.5 percent downpayment for new forward mortgages below $625,500. The increased premiums are ... [2 charts]

IsZo Capital Management increases stake in Impac Mortgage.

HSBC is planning a large nonperforming mortgage auction that could happen early in the second quarter.

The market for nonperforming mortgages could turn white hot in 2013.

Walter Investment is buying the residential origination platform of Ally Bank for next to nothing.

If Wells Fargo sells MSRs more investment vehicles dedicated to servicing rights may spring up.

Banks and Wall Street firms are sticking their toes back in the water when it comes to making loans backed by mortgage servicing rights.

Add this to the mortgage banker worry-list: the FHFA is once again toying with the idea of changing the minimum servicing fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

Roughly $20 billion of mortgage servicing rights that once belonged to Taylor, Bean & Whitaker are quietly being shopped around.

Joe Anderson, who worked at Countrywide Financial Corp. for 17 years and then Nationstar, is considered the top candidate to get the CEO job at Vericrest Financial.