What We're Hearing

We continue to hear more talk that some large holders of troubled mortgages may finally begin selling their "dogs" but public announcements are few and far between. PennyMac recently confirmed that it had bought a $100 million portfolio of loans but declined to identify the seller. One positive sign could be strong earnings. If large banks and Wall Street firms -- which also are the largest holders of nonperforming residential loans and securities -- post strong earnings they finally can "afford" to unload their NPL holdings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is running an advertisement on the New York Daily News website, lobbying against the creation of a consumer financial protection agency, saying a CFPA will make it more difficult for small businesses to get credit. We assume these small businesses could include mortgage banking and brokerage firms...