Hundreds of smaller GSE sellers retained more servicing in the second quarter than they usually do, setting the stage for increased bulk MSR trades when buyers get more confident. (Includes two data charts.)

Only 9.2% of refi loans sold to Fannie and Freddie in the second quarter had credit scores below 700, the lowest such concentration on record. (Includes two data charts.)

The Golden State still ranked tops in most primary mortgage insurance categories during the second quarter, but Texas gained in many products. (Includes data chart.)

Bank home-mortgage repurchases totaled just $372.6 million in the first quarter of 2020, the second-lowest total on record. (Includes data chart.)

The biggest gain in the government market was in VA loans, where quarterly volume was up 23.5%...

Securitization of expanded-credit mortgages was the only non-agency sector to see increased issuance during the tumultuous second quarter of 2020. Jumbo and scratch-and-dent production fell sharply from the first quarter. (Includes two data charts.)

A big surge of conventional refinance loans helped private MIs boost their share of the insured agency market to 44% in the second quarter, although purchase loans continued to account for most PMI business. (Includes two data charts.)

Independent mortgage companies for the first time serviced more than half of the single-family loans in agency MBS at midyear. But many high-ranked servicers saw declines in their agency servicing portfolios. (Includes two data charts.)

The writing was on the wall: nonbanks took over the Ginnie market back in 2016...

The venerable agency MBS platform set production records in both the third and fourth quarters of 2019, caught its breath in early 2020, and then rose 12.7% to a new high in the April-June cycle.