Paul Muolo

Redwood Trust officials have been hearing plenty of talk about other firms entering the jumbo MBS space—but aren’t holding their breath about seeing new bonds issued anytime soon.

Not all mortgage lenders saw loan production fall off the table in the first quarter. Astoria Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y. funded $707 million of residential loans for its portfolio in 1Q, a 10% jump from 4Q.

With FHA lending remaining healthy (still) and the outlook for the sector looking promising (despite recent premium hikes) it’s safe to say that the “government eagle” is more valuable than ever before.

Lee Farkas isn’t exactly a household name in America, but this week he became the first mortgage executive of a once top ranked lender to be found guilty of a fraud with its roots in the housing bust.

Hudson City Bancorp, one of the largest correspondent lenders in the Northeast, shed roughly $8.6 billion of MBS in the first quarter as it moved to reduce its interest risk at the demand of regulators.

If it weren't for those darn mortgage lenders and their ultra-tight underwriting standards, the housing market would be much improved, or so the National Association of Realtors keeps telling us every month when the new existing home sales figures come out.

Loan officers are still licking their wounds in the wake of the Federal Reserve's new (restrictive) loan officer compensation rules, but if anyone's celebrating it's the folks whose job is to actually hire LOs, and their wholesale counterparts, account executives.

Wells Fargo & Co., which dominates the nation's residential lending market, saw its home fundings tumble by 34% to $84 billion in the first quarter as higher rates took a bite out of refinancings.

If ever there was a conundrum to improving housing values it’s the riddle of underwriting. Few will disagree that during the housing boom lenders such as Ameriquest and New Century would fund almost any type of mortgage as long as the borrower was still breathing.

Moody's Investors Service this week downgraded its ratings on $8.2 billion of prime jumbo MBS issued by Wells Fargo & Co., while affirming some of its ratings.

Although total originations fell by about 13% last year, mortgage bankers funded almost $38 billion of interest-only mortgages in 2010, an 8% increase from the prior year, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News.

Sandler O'Neill on Monday reduced its price target on Genworth Financial to $13 a share (from $15), citing problems with the company's mortgage insurance division.

The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals is giving up — for now — in its court battle against the Federal Reserve Board to block the agency's just implemented loan officer compensation rule.

Usually, when the stock market tanks money moves into bonds, driving up prices and lowering yields. Not today, though. As of this writing the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200 points and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was up slightly at 3.41%.

CitiMortgage funded $14.1 billion of home mortgages in the first quarter, a 35% decline from 4Q, and further evidence that the nation's mega banks — as expected — are seeing a noticeable drop in new originations.

THIS JUST IN: In Monday’s National Mortgage News (the paper version, that is) you’ll see a story about the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals throwing in the towel on its lawsuit against the Federal Reserve. However, NAIHP chief Marc Savitt promised that he’s not done fighting the loan officer compensation rule—though he’s not ready to reveal his exact strategy either.

The mortgage insurance industry hopes that banking regulators recognize the value of their product when finalizing their ‘qualified residential mortgage’ test -- but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf years.

Leif Thomson is the founder and CEO of Mortgage Master, one of the largest retail home lenders in all of New England. The firm has been around for 24 years – in good times and bad.

As the megabanks continue to write down the value of their residential servicing portfolios, now may be the best time ever to buy housing receivables, according to a new report from Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., New York.

Perhaps, loan brokers should just stop battling the Federal Reserve over its loan officer compensation rule, adapt, and move on to the next stage of their career. Or as loan broker/banker Chris Sorensen put it: "This isn't as bad as people think. Once the whining and crying is over, brokers will pick their comp rate and start competing with the big boys."