Will departing FHFA chief Ed DeMarco go work for a hedge fund? Stranger things have happened.

A handful of firms say they are still aggressively recruiting residential loan officers who have a solid background in purchase-money lending – that is, sales professionals with deep ties to Realtors and home builders.

It may sound complicated, but it appears that Nationstar is selling a portion of its MSR fee on certain rights so it can deleverage and buy even more servicing.

Meanwhile, mortgage insurers are concerned that the new LLPA grid from Fannie and Freddie will throw cold water on their market share gains.

The FHFA MMI is in better shape? So what, says critic Ed Pinto. He believes that huge problems remain.

The drop in warehouse commitments mirrored, somewhat, the fall-off in residential originations, which declined almost 19 percent in the third quarter, according to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.

As a technical matter, Edward DeMarco still heads FHFA and the agency is once again testing the waters for lower Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limits.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and other trade groups are hopping mad at FHFA's latest December surprise: higher LLPAs.

Ed DeMarco of FHFA pulls a 'Beyonce' with the higher LLPAs. Meanwhile, we're hearing that Met Watt may be sworn in by early January.

Advisors note that Walter should be concerned that it has a large MSR portfolio – $194 billion at Sept. 30, according to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance – but a relatively small origination platform.