The senators said they find it distressing that such a large fee would be introduced “with no consultation with Congress and no notice to external stakeholders.”

A basic question: Will Treasury step in to change the trajectory of the new GSE refi fee? (The mainstream media has finally discovered the story.)

Gain-on-sale margins went through the roof in the second quarter for all involved...

Retail-originated refi production was particularly strong at the GSEs, climbing 160.5% from the first to the second quarter. By contrast, deliveries of retail refi loans rose 30.5% at Ginnie Mae, where total MBS issuance increased more modestly...

However, there’s a catch to the Ginnie number. Servicers of government product, especially depositories with a balance sheet, increasingly are buying delinquent FHA and VA loans out of MBS pools as a way to save money and possibly rehabilitate them down the road.

There’s a big disparity between default rates on Fannie/Freddie loans and government-insured loans in Ginnie MBS. The combined total delinquencies for the government-sponsored enterprises was 4.13%, compared with Ginnie’s 10.81%.

At the very least, refi lenders see their profit margins suffering because of the new edict. But will the GSEs (and the FHFA) hear their pleas?

But can MBA and other outraged trade groups do anything to stop this new LLPA? “We hope to rescind it,” said MBA's Bob Broeksmit...

Pulling the strings behind the non-QM curtain: A giant named PIMCO...