Although only 13 banks reported net losses on mortgage banking during 1Q – compared to 756 institutions with net profits – several of the top players earned less than they did in the fourth quarter.

Commercial banks and thrifts held $1.58 trillion of residential MBS at the end of March, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous quarter.

Is a single GSE security years in the distance? It's hard to say. The FHFA won't offer a timeline.

“U.S. Bank was asked why it wasn’t expanding in the mortgage business,” Gabriel said during a panel discussion. “Their answer was: ‘Did you see what happened to Bank of America?’”

If purchase-lending doesn’t increase soon the mortgage industry could be in for some turbulence.

Annaly remained the biggest REIT investor in MBS, although its holdings were down 14.9 percent from the fourth quarter.

Although the FHA has been losing ground for several years to the private MIs, the program saw a surge in refis in March...

Fannie and Freddie securitized $26.34 billion of purchase mortgages in April, a 24.3 percent increase from the previous month.

The eight nonbanks – including the top publicly traded firms that rank high in originations, servicing or both – posted a combined $40.5 million in mortgage-banking income during the first quarter.

VA originations by state-licensed lenders rose 14.5 percent from 2013 to 2014.