Freddie Mac continues to churn out steady financial returns, with the growth in first-time home buyers and credit risk transfers providing the GSE stable footing when a recession comes, according to new CEO David Brickman.

New Residential Investment Corp. took a $32 million net loss in the second quarter as it diversified its business lines and repositioned to protect its mortgage servicing rights from falling rates.

Title insurers benefited from the increase in origination volume — especially refinancings — during the second quarter, as open order counts increased compared with one year prior.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions cut its previous-quarter net loss by 49% in its most recent fiscal period, when property maintenance revenue and new Hubzu real estate auction site inventory increased.

MGIC reported higher-than-expected earnings, seen as a positive for the other mortgage insurers, plus Flagstar and KeyCorp had strong quarters for their mortgage businesses.

Pretax mortgage income at NVR Inc. surged 37% year-over-year in the second quarter while originations rose 1%, contrasting more tepid home-loan earnings results relative to originations at big banks.

Bank of America says rate cuts could reinvigorate mortgages and that its digital and cards strategies will help it grab more market share to offset shrinking margins.

The second quarter continues to shape up as a good one for bank mortgage lenders — and one ancillary service provider — that are benefiting from a spike in volume.

The Minneapolis bank reported growth across several lending and noninterest income categories in the second quarter, which offset net interest margin pressures and declining deposit service fees.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase recorded stronger mortgage originations in the second quarter as rates fell, but profits from single-family loans were lower than a year ago due to decreased servicing revenue.