Mortgage brokers accounted for 9.6 percent of all loans originated in the the third quarter, one of the lowest readings ever, according to exclusive survey figures from Inside Mortgage Finance.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed the two GSEs to accelerate their portfolio trimming by focusing on “less-liquid” assets other than their own MBS.

The last time private MIs did more business than either the FHA or the VA was back in the first quarter of 2008. At that point, however, private MIs accounted for well over half of primary MI new business.

Buyback resolutions declined by 28 percent from the second quarter, even as the government-sponsored enterprises wrapped up large-scale settlements with a handful of their largest sellers.

There was no surprise about why. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized a total of $41.71 billion of refinance loans in October, down 22 percent from the previous month.

The bipartisan Senate blueprint for secondary mortgage market reform includes several key provisions designed to facilitate small-lender access when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are no longer around.

Look who has a bigger piece of the mortgage servicing pie: nonbanks that do not fall under the purview of the Fed, FDIC and other regulatory agencies.

Standard & Poor's rated $11.65 billion of non-agency MBS issued through the end of September.

Michael Heid, president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said more clarity on reps and warranties would help loosen residential credit.

Among the nation’s top five lenders in 3Q, Quicken suffered the largest volume decline on a sequential basis. Wells Fargo was a close second.