The number of Federal Housing Administration loans originated in May waned a bit even as conventional lending picked up, Ellie Mae reported Wednesday.

Of the loans studied by Ellie Mae last month, 19% were classified as FHA, while conventional home mortgages made up 72% of the market – an increase from 68% in April. 

Ellie Mae’s origination report is compiled from a sampling of loan applications that pass through its Encompass360 mortgage managment software each month.

Refinance and purchase originations stayed the same in May, hovering at 58% and 42%, respectively.

“On a month-over-month basis, the market in May mirrored April, and credit quality, as measured by FICO, LTV and DTI, continued its slow loosening that started in January 2013,” said Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae.

The newly released data shows a slight weakening in lending criteria, though standards remain high. The average closed first-lien loan had a FICO score of 743, a loan-to-value ratio of 79 and a debt-to-income ratio of 23/35.

Loans with FICO’s at 701 and LTVs at 84 generally landed in the denied pile, according to Ellie’s data.