Paul Muolo

On Monday the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals is expected to file suit against the Federal Reserve Board, seeking to block its loan officer compensation rule, according to officials familiar with the situation. The civil action will be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Flagstar Bank ended the year with $1.87 billion of outstanding warehouse commitments, a 23% jump from the same period a year ago, according to survey figures.

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.

Mortgage lenders and servicers should've been drinking champagne this morning. The national unemployment rate fell below 9% which means (in theory) that fewer mortgagors will default on their loans, and a whole new crop of employed citizens might feel good enough to buy a home this spring. But if only it were that simple.

Wells Fargo & Co. once again ranked first among all residential funders in the most recent quarter with its market share jumping almost a full point to 24% -- one of the highest readings on record, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News.

Helios AMC, a specialty servicer of defaulted commercial real estate loans and other debt, this week hired industry veteran Keith Johnson as its chief executive effective immediately

As we noted in a recent column, wholesalers have been sending out new compensation contracts to their loan brokers. Some brokers I've interviewed are none-too-pleased with what they've seen while others are learning to live with the situation.

Hudson City Bancorp, an active correspondent buyer of residential loans in the mid-Atlantic area, revealed that it soon may become the subject of an "informal regulatory enforcement action" known as a 'memorandum of understanding.'

Ally Financial said late Wednesday that the U.S. Treasury will be repaid $2.7 billion from the sale of all the Trust Preferred Securities that the agency holds in the bank holding company and mortgage lender.

C-BASS founders Bruce Williams and Saul Sanders are talking to mortgage banker New Penn Financial, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., about buying the company, according to three sources familiar with the deal.

Anyone looking for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to endorse a specific approach to the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and the housing finance system at large) came away disappointed by his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday — where he repeatedly declined to take a concrete stand.

The Treasury Department, which controls almost 75% of Ally Financial, named investment banker John Durrett to the bank holding company's board of directors.

PIMCO has received commitments of up to $1 billion to invest in jumbo mortgages as part of a conduit project which carries the working name of 'Project Bravo,' according to secondary market officials.

By the time you read this, the second jumbo MBS deal in 10 months will be wrapped up and sold to clamoring investors—but not without a minor controversy concerning the rating of this $290 million “nonconforming” bond.

Federal regulators have drafted a 'qualified residential mortgage' rule that mandates a 20% downpayment for such loans while leaving mortgage insurance totally out of the equation -- a move that could prolong the housing recession in several states and decimate the mortgage insurance industry.

Regulators have supposedly inked a risk retention rule which says this: borrowers will have to make at least a 20% downpayment to meet criteria that exempts lenders from retaining a portion of the loan when selling it into the secondary market.

The nation's top three ranked mortgage bankers are marking down the asset value of their servicing portfolios faster than their receivables are running off, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News.

Redwood Trust, the only firm to dip its toe back into the jumbo MBS market, earned $15 million in the fourth quarter, a 63% decline from the same period a year earlier.

Unless Congress comes up with some fresh cash by midnight Friday, the federal government will shut down — and along with it the Federal Housing Administration and its popular mortgage insurance programs. And an apparent deal to extend government operations would only kick the can down the road for another two weeks.

The film 'Inside Job' took home the Oscar Sunday night for best documentary. Director Charles Ferguson used his acceptance speech to deliver pointed criticism of Wall Street and the financial industry: "Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by financial fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that's wrong."