The other day a mortgage recruiter made a blunt statement to us: “Wholesale lending is really hot right now.” Of course, given what’s happened to the mortgage business the past few years and all the blame being placed on brokers for crappy loan quality, such a statement might be taken with a grain of salt.

At some point the White House might finally understand that the regulatory pendulum has swung much too far in the other direction.

But what does the eventual resolution of ResCap really mean? Answer: A new, stronger competitor (Nationstar) could rise from the ashes. (If Dan Mudd was still at Fortress -- which owns a piece of Nationstar -- he might be considered the “Comeback Kid.”)

Is the mortgage industry in the throes of what might turn out to be a lengthy and profitable recovery? Let’s look at the signs: Fannie Mae just posted a hefty profit, Freddie Mac has earned money on an operating basis for at least two quarters in a row, many lenders are enjoying strong profit margins and the HARP program appears to be humming along. Optimists might have reason to pop some champagne.

Over the past dozen years, one of the best things I’ve done on the road is to gather top industry officials around me and have a freeform, on-the-record roundtable of industry issues.

When the CFPB’s loan officer compensation proposal came out late Wednesday night nonbank mortgage lenders and loan brokers hit the roof. Some trade group officials thought the young agency actually understood the mortgage market, thinking it would do what is best for consumers – which brokers believe would benefit them.

Once again the government is taking out the mortgage crisis on nonbanks, their loan officers and mortgage brokers. On Monday National Mortgage News will publish a more detailed story about the mess, but suffice to say there are many things that rankle nonbanks concerning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new mortgage compensation rule.

Some loan officers hate appraisal management companies (AMCs) and here’s why: Several megabanks control AMCs through joint ventures and are making huge fee income while paying rank and file appraisers little.

What the heck ever happened to Uncle Sam’s subprime (real estate) lender, Springleaf Financial? Good question.

HARP 2.0 is hot – or so we keep hearing. Late last year the Treasury Department finally found the keys to the HARP kingdom: take the loan-to-value ratio girdle totally off the patient and see what happens.

In February and January of this year mortgage firms hired 5,500 workers. That’s good news for the industry and shows that residential finance is on the rise again after several rough years of dealing with record delinquencies, sagging home values, tougher regulations, and the general perception that “renting is good.”

It’s not easy being president. Just ask George W. Bush or Jimmy Carter. As for the current inhabitant of the White House, he was a bit late to the game when it came to tackling the housing and mortgage crisis. He wants to fix the housing/mortgage mess and he controls (sort of) three entities that can aid in that recovery: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD/FHA

Neil Morse was a gifted mortgage writer, an indefatigable road warrior, a thoroughly professional public relations executive, and finally as a colleague for his work with our conference group. He died way too soon (he was 62).

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “We’re running out of inventory.” The inventory in question is housing and in selected real estate markets Realtors are complaining (here and there) about the lack of homes in “hot” neighborhoods.

It appears that a flip-flop of sorts is happening in regard to the FHA and VA programs.

For a year now the government owned Ally Financial has kept mum on the idea of throwing ResCap into bankruptcy protection but the self imposed gag order came off late Friday night.

eWarehouseOne’s Tom Reynolds, Man of Mystery

It’s no secret that the mortgage industry – after hearing from its customers – is clamoring for a HARP 3.0 refi solution for underwater loans that are not guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But how do we get there?

Getting licensed to be a mortgage loan officer is simple – or so some readers have told us. But we’ve also heard stories about failure rates in some states approaching 40%.

Tongues are clucking in the industry about the death of the ‘transitory’ license with many nonbank loan officers believing that their depository brethren are at a financial disadvantage.

In a few weeks we’ll know whether the Treasury Department’s third largest investment in housing/mortgages will file for bankruptcy protection. I’m talking about Residential Capital Corp./GMAC, which recently missed a bond payment and has 30-days to make good on it.

Late last week, I talked to one mortgage analyst who said some firms he’s looked at earned more money in the first quarter than they did all of last year. That’s great news for the mortgage industry, but of course this one anecdote does not apply to all.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau poked its thumb in the eye of residential loan officers originating mortgages for depositories.

It's no secret that over the past three years the megabanks have run screaming from the third-party lending sector, abandoning correspondent lenders and loan brokers alike. Bank of America and TPO: Gone. Citigroup and TPO: gone. Ally Financial: Just about gone. But there's a growing trend of mid-sized and regional banks that see a huge opportunity in wholesale and correspondent.

Election time is like the Wild West: anything can, and will, happen. Yesterday our page views went through the roof when we blogged about GOP hopeful Mitt Romney floating the idea of getting rid of HUD. So far, Romney hasn't backed down from the idea (that we know of), but professionals who are serious about this industry know full well that killing HUD at this point in the recovery would cause housing to crater yet again.

If GOP hopeful Mitt Romney has his way HUD will be killed and presumably so will the FHA program. It's election season and the candidate - hoping to appeal to conservatives - wants to stick a knife in HUD/FHA because, well, it's a cabinet level agency and cutting big government is a red meat move.

For Residential Capital Corp. the shinola hit the fan on Tuesday. Early this morning ResCap filed a notice with the SEC saying it missed a scheduled payment on its debt Tuesday, laying the ground work for an eventual default - that is, if the payment is not made up within 30 days.

Rumors are starting to surface that if and when a 'HARP 3.0' program is unveiled it will include non-GSE loans. As one commenter told us, "There are a lot of Alt-A loans that look just like GSE loans, but went to private investors. Why should they be punished because their loan was sold to the wrong investor?"

Over the past two months National Mortgage News has been reporting on a mysterious warehouse lender called eWarehouseOne. Late this week we learned that Anthony J. Simich, a division vice president for the firm - and one of few employees there who actually returns phone calls and emails - resigned.

One of the easiest ways to get my attention is to follow me on Twitter and shoot me a message. I'm @mortgagenewz.