This article here discusses how Nomura Holdings is pulling out of the US home loan business and focusing more on Asian Markets. This move comes after they wrote off $621 million in bad debt with US mortgage losses of $1.2 billion since January 2007. They will also lay off 400 of their New York employees.
This move is indicative of other investors in the home loan industry when the market goes sour. Investors are constantly scanning the environment for the best place to invest their funds for the greatest return. When our housing market was booming, this was a great place to invest, and know it is the opposite.
From an economic standpoint, when the market fluctuates like this, it shifts the supply and demand curves back and forth. This article is an indicator that the demand curve has shifted back for home loans, so the supply curve (mortgage lender) is now shifting back as well to compensate.