Production in all three channels was down from the fourth quarter, but brokers had a smaller decline than correspondents and retail producers. (Includes two data charts.)

Correspondent production across all three major mortgage food groups was up 12.6% from the third to the fourth quarter, while retail rose 5.8% and wholesale-broker managed just a 2.5% gain. (Includes two data charts.)

A large concentration of refinance loans meant that retail mortgages sold to the agencies had higher credit scores — along with lower LTV and DTI ratios — than did third-party originations. Seller profiles were shaped by their channel strategies. (Includes two data charts.)

Policymakers should focus on making origination and servicing attractive to banks and nonbanks alike instead of adopting additional standards that apply to non-depositories, the Mortgage Bankers Association says.

Nonbank mortgage lenders and depositories live in a different world. Right? Yes and no. Inside Mortgage Trends ranks the top 20 home lenders by institution type. (Includes two data charts.)

Correspondent production took a bigger share of the fast-growing conventional-conforming space, while retail expanded in government lending. Wholesale-broker jumbo lending declined in the third quarter. (Includes two data charts.)

Although residential loan production has been strong the past two quarters, mortgage hiring of new workers hasn’t exactly caught fire.

In its thirst to expand the company’s presence in wholesale lending, Quicken Loans Mortgage Services this week unveiled big hiring plans for Detroit and Charlotte.

Loan applications are on the rise once again after a down reading the week before. And it appears the good times will last through the fall.

Although residential originations remain strong, the loan brokerage sector has been steadily cutting jobs since the spring, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry players question the numbers.