Before joining the FHFA in late 2011, Hornsby spent 26 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the last 10 under Janet Yellen, who is now the nation’s central banker.

“They’re either going to shut their doors, merge or sell out to someone else,” one M&A advisor told Inside Mortgage Finance. “We could see 2,000 firms disappear.”

Of late, nonbanks are showing an increasing interest in buying delinquent loans out of Ginnie Mae pools.

CSP watchers say the GSE platform is starting to look like an orphan under director Mel Watt. But will Watt mention the project in his first public speech next week?

Beginning in December, the FHFA directly stepped into the MSR sales market, requiring its approval on all Fannie/Freddie transfers involving 5,000 loans or more. This additional level of approval initially caused concern in the market because it added another layer of oversight to sales.

Based on what Freddie's Layton said, one might think that going forward, the GSEs might barely break even. Maybe that’s why the GSEs – and not necessarily Mel Watt – want to hike their guaranty fees…

Additional industry layoffs are likely in the months ahead. In the first quarter, all lenders originated just $235 billion in mortgages. It was the weakest production quarter in 14 years.

Did someone in the mortgage industry actually ask one of the GSEs recently to increase the 25 basis point servicing fee that it pays to residential servicers?

Industry officials who have studied the issue contend that the Treasury Department does not have the legal right to give Fannie and Freddie back to their junior and common shareholders. In short, it would take an act of Congress.

According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, in the fourth quarter brokers facilitated roughly 9.8 percent of all originations, one of the lowest readings ever.