It may be temporary, but residential mortgage debt outstanding fell in the fourth quarter. For buyers of servicers that means less product is available (in theory).

By itself, BofA accounted for 79.3 percent of the $606.3 billion shrinkage in commercial bank MSR portfolios during 2013. Where did all that servicing go to?

Freddie Mac has begun reviewing servicing-related violations of its program rules, issuing notices of defect for certain violations, mostly related to the conveyance of properties to the GSE with title problems.

Mortgage repurchases peaked in 2009 at $34.276 billion, fell to $31.811 billion in 2010 and $20.943 billion in 2011, and then dropped to just $12.966 billion in 2012.

The first two months of 2014 generated just $132.85 billion of new agency MBS, down 57.6 percent from the same period last year. A harsh winter in many parts of the country hasn’t helped.

The fee assessed by FHA would cost lenders roughly $30 million a year, or $23 per loan, according to calculations done by Inside Mortgage Finance.

Jumbo production surged 20.9 percent from 2012 levels to an estimated $272 billion – the strongest output for the sector since 2007.

Subprime delinquencies are increasing, but it's unclear whether the trend will last or whether it's just a blip on the radar screen.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ordered the two GSEs to sell at least 5 percent of their “less-liquid” mortgage assets, meaning whole loans and non-agency securities. CMBS are arguably the most liquid of these.

The retail share of new residential originations declined slightly, to 60 percent, in the fourth quarter after climbing steadily during the first nine months of the year.