After an initial public offering involving Quicken Loans and affiliated companies is completed, founder Dan Gilbert will retain 79% of the voting power in the common stock of the new entity, Rocket Companies.

The mortgage M&A landscape has been a desert for most of the year but, as always, hope springs eternal for deal makers.

Heavy rate-term refinances and cash-out transactions accounted for much of last year's big gain in first-lien originations. Denial rates were down in nearly all categories. (Includes data chart.)