Paul Muolo

Outstanding mortgage debt secured by apartment buildings rose to $806 billion at Sept. 30, a $4.1 billion increase (up 0.5%) from mid-year, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, through an affiliate, has increased an existing repurchase agreement with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital.

Wednesday morning we were greeted with the news that an affiliate of Newcastle Investment Corp. – a publicly traded REIT – has agreed to pay almost $44 million to Nationstar Mortgage in exchange for receiving 65% of the interest payments on a $9.9 billion pool of MSRs.

An affiliate of Newcastle Investment Corp. – a publicly traded REIT – has agreed to pay $43.7 million to Nationstar Mortgage in exchange for receiving 65% of the interest payments on a $9.9 billion pool of MSRs.

A little over three years ago insurance giant MetLife looked like a genius. It stuck its toe in the mortgage banking pond by purchasing the production arm of First Horizon, some of its MSRs, and kept adding to the business.

In case you missed the story broken by National Mortgage News on Monday here's the summary: FHFA's Office of Inspector General is looking for a firm to evaluate mortgage servicing rights. It won't give a reason but industry advisors familiar with the issue say the IG's office is investigating Fannie's purchase of $74 billion of MSRs from Bank of America. (A spokeswoman for the FHFA IG had no comment.)

DebtX, Boston, has been hired to sell roughly $334 million of troubled acquisition, development and construction loans for a bankrupt real estate fund.

The Inspector General's office of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is taking bids on a contract to evaluate mortgage servicing rights, according to a 'request for proposal' being circulated around the industry.

ViewPoint Financial Group, Plano, Texas, has agreed to purchase Highlands Bancshares, and its subsidiary bank, First National Bank of Jacksboro, in a stock deal valued at $71 million.

By now most American investors have tired of the market whiplash caused by the Euro crisis. One day there's a deal, the next day there's not and Great Britain wants a say even though they're not on the Euro and forever glad they didn't join. Mortgage bankers are probably looking at the mess and wondering what it all means for them.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, is auctioning off a $186 million bulk package of Government National Mortgage Association servicing rights.

Late this week we were hearing reports that the Treasury Department might be looking for outside help on evaluating servicing rights. The question, of course, is why?…

Yes, I know: Fannie Mae isn’t really in the servicing business even though it bought $74 billion of MSRs from Bank of America in the third quarter. The news of the deal – published by National Mortgage News and at least one other media outlet – is starting to sink in.

Fannie Mae recently told its seller/servicers that all mortgage insurance rescissions, cancellations and claim denials tied to loans it bought must be reported to the agency immediately.

Craig Cole, a former mortgage production chief who recently retired from Union Bank, San Francisco, has launched a new consulting firm to advise clients on their jumbo lending and execution strategies.

Although insurance giant MetLife Inc. is contemplating bids for its banking and mortgage divisions, the company's warehouse lending unit is nearing the $1 billion mark in terms of commitments.

Perhaps the future for loan brokers isn't so bleak after all. Wholesale lenders table funded almost $33 billion of loans in the third quarter, giving the channel a 9.2% market share, according to new figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a new comment letter, strongly urges the government not to change the current GSE servicing compensation model, shooting down a FHFA proposal that would pay loan processors $10 per month for performing loans.

"Don't mess with Texas" is one popular bumper sticker I used to see, but not so much anymore. But one thing is for certain: Texas has one of the best housing and mortgage markets in the nation. Why? One word: oil.

Wells Fargo & Co. – as the industry is quite aware – is a dominant force in both residential production and servicing, but it continues to tower above all competitors in the GNMA MBS market.