The hunger for GSE speculation is also causing some investors to buy Fannie/Freddie common which has been rising of late, but not by much. However, one GSE watcher believes that buying the common, "is a fool’s game."

Moody’s notes that all three have grown their production operations – a positive – but question whether over the long term whether they can compete with banks in the “prime” market.

Ginnie Mae gave seller/servicers a heads-up on the longer approval times in late November at an “education summit” in Washington attended by both new and existing issuers.

The mortgage industry is once again at a crossroad. What will save lenders? Answer: cash-out refis, non-QM loans, and 80-10-10s.

Former CFPB executive Raj Date hopes to be in the non-QM market by mid-year 2014.

It’s likely that little in the way of money is changing hands on the deal. By selling the MSRs to Fannie, Citi is also settling the payment of “compensatory” fee claims the GSE is owed by the bank.

According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Flagstar is the nation’s second largest wholesale/broker lender. It also has a fairly large presence in the warehouse market.

Talk about red hot! Sales of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights soared in fiscal 2013, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned.

It may be time for the mortgage industry to take a chill-pill: applications are on the rise again, rates have stabilized and some firms are actually hiring loan officers.

MSR sales, in general, are expected to be brisk in the first quarter as lenders sell receivables to make up for declining originations.