Newly-released minutes from the Fed’s meeting in March indicate that the Fed is ready to slow the pace of Treasury runoff while maintaining the already slow pace of MBS runoff.

The role of MBS in housing market bubbles is a sign that the financial sector now drives the real economy rather than the other way around.

Larger lenders remain the most affected by the decline in sales.

The goal might be to slow the runoff by allowing less Treasury redemptions each month but allowing MBS to run off at their natural pace.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Community Home Lenders of America are on opposite sides of the debate about allowing the GSEs to waive the requirement for lender’s title insurance.

Regulators were aware that the three regional banks that failed last year had large amounts of uninsured deposits and high exposure to FHLBank advances.

The FHLBanks followed existing rules when they continued to provide advances to Silicon Valley, Signature and First Republic banks prior to their failures last March.

The final legal process could stretch out for another year or two...

Smaller lenders, with comparatively smaller declines in volume, saw their market share rise in the first quarter at the expense of large banks and large nonbanks. (Includes two data tables.)

By focusing on refis, FHFA will be able to assess the ability of its title insurance waiver pilot to reduce closing costs with a smaller group of lower-risk loans.