Here’s what the current state of mortgage banking boils down to: Can the industry survive on $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion in production a year through 2015?

The privately held nonbank has carefully ratcheted up the maximum from $750,000 to $1 million and now $1.5 million.

“I don’t think it gets sold for the time being,” said one analyst speaking under the condition his name not be used. “It needs lots of restructuring yet.”

Since that story appeared, we’ve talked to a few mortgage company CEOs who have said – tongue in cheek – that just about every mortgage firm is for sale.

The HUD auction has two parts: A national offering of roughly 23,200 loans and a Neighborhood Stabilization Outcomes Pool of 4,800 notes.

As reported by IMFnews, the FHFA has yet to appoint a permanent chief executive and chairman for the CSP, formally known as Common Securitization Solutions.

Taken as a barometer of industry activity, Wells Fargo's prediction is hardly good news for a business that is facing an ugly 40 percent decline in fundings this year.

The Nationstar spokesman noted that Rodgers’ production duties were assumed by Chad Patton, a senior executive for business development at the nonbank lender.

It appears that CashCall is getting closer to finalizing a deal to sell some of its production assets to the publicly traded Stonegate Mortgage.

But would Guaranteed Rate ponder a sale? No, said company executive Ted Ahern. “We’re not for sale. We intend to stay that way.”