Paul Muolo

I would guess that our nation's elected leaders – especially members of the GOP – woke this morning and saw the news in The Wall Street Journal that Fannie Mae is paying $500 million to buy $73 billion worth of servicing rights from the wobbly Bank of America. And then steam came out of their ears.

Spurs Capital is coming to market with two small loan pools: a $25 million package of performing/sub-performing product, and $20 million worth of nonperforming mortgages.

Bank of America is trying to sell a $10 billion chunk of Freddie Mac mortgage servicing rights, after failing to unload a larger $50 billion package of MSRs, according to industry officials.

Citigroup on Tuesday afternoon revealed that it recently hired Mark Danahy to head its residential origination division, which ranks among the top five in the nation.

The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals said it has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to discuss the issue of loan buyback claims being forced upon mortgage brokers.

Over the past year I've written a dozen or so stories about so-and-so contemplating the creation of a jumbo conduit. But are any of these 'sounds like a great idea' conduits actually buying anything, and if they are, how much?

The president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals is seeking a meeting with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s ombudsman to discuss the issue of the agency going after loan brokers on buyback claims.

Freddie Mac posted a $2.1 billion loss in the second quarter after booking large credit and derivatives charges.

Mom, apple pie and Chevys are all near and dear in the hearts of Americans—along with the mortgage interest deduction. But thanks to the government’s worsening debt picture it appears that at least one of these cherished icons is in danger of being thrown overboard.

Over the weekend Standard & Poor's poked the U.S. government in the eyes, with its debt downgrading. But hey, isn't this the same S&P that got whacked upside the head by Congress (and everyone else) for its crappy ratings on billions of dollars in subprime MBS?

Although Bank of America entered into a $2.8 billion buyback settlement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late last year, it is looking at additional repurchase claims regarding the two GSEs, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Readers of the National Mortgage News website and our weekly have probably noticed our stories about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. going after loan brokers on buyback claims. When looking at the issue as an objective third party we try not to take sides. But when it comes to column/blog writing, those rules are thrown out the window.

The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals plans to set up a legal fund to help residential loan brokers defend against buyback claims being filed against them by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The mortgage job picture was not awful in June despite slow application growth. In total, the industry shed 2,400 full-time employees – 1,800 of which were loan brokers. (For the full story visit: www.nationalmortgagenews.com. Also, the mortgage numbers lag the national totals by one month.)

Paul Green, senior vice president of corporate relations for the Mortgage Bankers Association, left the trade group two weeks ago, according to industry officials.

On Friday morning, the day after the share price of PMI Group tumbled by 50%, FBR Capital Markets labeled the stock a 'market perform' but said it is dropping its expectations on the nation's second largest mortgage insurer.

Redwood Trust, the only firm to publicly issue jumbo MBS in the past two years, posted a net profit of just $9 million in the second quarter, half of what it earned in 1Q, telling investors there is a lack of quality mortgages to buy at the right price.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust reported record earnings of $16.6 million in the second quarter, and told investors that its correspondent mortgage purchases doubled in the second quarter to just over $50 million.

If you're an investor where do you park your money these days? Treasury bonds? Cash? Equities? Gold? Oil? Ladies and gentlemen, pick your poison because there are no clear bets unless you are solely trying to preserve principal.

Thanks to an ailing U.S. economy and trouble in overseas markets, rates offered on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to a new yearly low this week, 4.39%, according to figures compiled by Freddie Mac.