I'm not sure anyone is profiting right now in any big way. The problem is that huge profits have been pulled out of the mortgage lending industry over the last 7 years or so which were not based on real value. These commissions and fees going to the lending industry, and they were in the billions, were "funded" by inflated property appraisals and overly optimistic forecasts of the borrowers' ability to pay or refinance. Add in a sophisticated scam that dumped lousy mortgages into the bond market (!) with more commissions changing hands at every stage, and you soon realize that this cash cow has been milked dry.