Retail lending, which includes traditional loan-origination offices and consumer-direct operations, was down 60.0 percent from the first quarter of last year, slightly worse than the 58.0 percent downturn in the overall market.

Seven lenders reported net losses during the first three months of 2014, but 12 of the firms showed stronger results than they had in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The negative results on residential production mean more lenders are relying on servicing rights to carry them through the tough times.

There is a tradeoff between taking on more higher-risk loans and raising g-fee prices, FHFA official Bob Ryan noted, and the calculation has to take into account other players in the market, such as the FHA.

S&P rated seven of the 11 non-agency MBS issued in the first three months of 2014, or 78 percent based on dollar volume, according to Inside MBS & ABS.

Neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac is changing its quality-control review policies for now.

All seven active mortgage insurance companies reported a total of $31.34 billion of new primary insurance written during the first quarter, according to calculations from Inside Mortgage Finance.

Overall, refi loans accounted for 45.7 percent of agency MBS production in the first four months of 2014, compared to 77.2 percent during the same period last year.

With $1.811 trillion of mortgage servicing rights on its books at the end of the first quarter, it would take an earthquake to knock Wells Fargo into the humble 12-figure universe.

Sixth-ranked Freedom Mortgage Corp. bucked the overall trend with a 19 percent increase in TPO deliveries to the agencies.