Bank portfolios of mortgage servicing for others contracted slightly during the first quarter. Also, the ratio measuring MSR fair value against the UPB serviced for others continued to drop after peaking in the third quarter of last year. (Includes data chart.)

Improvements in loan performance were seen across Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

Total delinquencies declined in the first quarter led by the drop in early-stage defaults. However, the delinquency rate on loans 30-59 days past due still accounted for more than half of the total default rate. (Includes data chart.)

The private MI share of purchase mortgages with primary mortgage insurance hit 48.4% in the first quarter of 2023.

The share of mortgages with low credit scores delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac declined during the first quarter. Loans from the lowest-risk category accounted for 64.35% of the GSE business. (Includes two data charts.)

Private mortgage insurers gained market share in the agency purchase market during the first quarter, even as securitization of insured mortgages declined. (Includes two data charts.)

The government-sponsored enterprises purchased a relatively smaller proportion of home loans with lower credit scores in early 2023.

The nation’s second-largest residential mortgage lender based on 2022 originations has revived its conventional 1% downpayment mortgage product; FTC approaches court to stop ICE-Black Knight merger.

Home-equity originations declined 14.7% from the third to the fourth quarter. But compared to 2021, the sector was glowing with a 49.1% spike in originations in 2022. (Includes three data charts.)

The top three originators of home-equity loans last year: Citizens Bank, Wells Fargo and PNC...