Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda called FHA lending an “important tool” for the bank.

The nation’s largest MBS-investing real estate investment trust, Annaly Capital Management, this week agreed to buy the third largest player in the market, setting off speculation among analysts and investors that the “mREIT” sector could be in for a healthy dose of consolidation. The New York-based Annaly said it would buy Hatteras Financial Corp., Winston-Salem, NC, for roughly $1.5 billion in cash and stock. At year end, Annaly ranked...

Although there hasn’t been a lot of good news on PHH of late, one analyst we spoke with noted a positive: “They still have plenty of cash on their books…”

“I would say that [MSR] prices are reasonable now,” said one advisor who spoke under the condition his name not be used. “The bid/ask spread has come down a little bit.”

Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery: “This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct..."

At yearend, RoundPoint had $14.9 billion in subservicing contracts. It now has almost $22 billion.

One servicing broker had this to say about the all the new offerings: “There’s a lot of deals out there now – and they seem to be getting done.”

We also heard one report that earlier in the year a large production group from a competitor jumped ship and joined WJB in January.

A few years ago JPM stopped funding RHS mortgages through loan brokers.

Much of the collateral is based in the Western U.S.