Fannie and Freddie pared back their portfolio holdings designated to support future business in the third quarter. Earnings were down from an eight-year high reached in the second quarter. (Includes data chart.)

The Inside Mortgage Finance top-50 tally at Sept. 30: Nonbanks $4.03 trillion of MSRs, depositories $3.83 trillion...

Nonbanks claimed more than half of the owned servicing reported by the top 50 firms in the market as their combined portfolio rose 10% in the second quarter. (Includes three data charts.)

The shift in loan purpose generally had the biggest impact on VA and uninsured volume.

The government-insured market was under more pressure...

Although new originations and loan sales declined from the second quarter, many firms said gain-on-sale margins improved.

Large mortgage bankers recorded a 5.2% gain in GSE servicing, while small- and mid-sized companies posted an 8.7% gain....

Fannie still has a substantially larger amount of single-family servicing outstanding, but Freddie grew its book significantly faster in the third quarter. Bulk MSR transfers accounted for some big shifts in the GSE servicing market. (Includes two data charts.)

Many companies reported declining production volume offset by stronger gain-on-sale margins. But servicing income strengthened as MSR values improved. (Includes data chart.)

The 3Q21 shift from refinance to purchase-mortgage lending generally benefited FHA and private MI activity more than the VA market. (Includes two data charts.)