Tag Archives: Mortgage-Backed Securities

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank for the sixth straight month in May as the enterprise's mortgage portfolio continued its decline. In its monthly volume summary, Fannie revealed its total book of business contracted at a compound rate of 2.4 percent in May, slightly slower than April's negative growth rate of 2.7 percent. Year-to-date, the book has seen an average annualized negative growth rate of 2.3 percent.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced an extension of the MHA program for at least one year and a new effort to help jump-start the private-label securities (PLS) market. To determine what can be done to encourage new PLS investment, the Treasury Department will be hosting a series of meetings with investors and is publishing a request for comment in the Federal Register.

Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of 2.1 percent in May, the company revealed in its latest volume summary. Purchases and issuances totaled $19.5 billion in May, down slightly from April’s figure of $19.8 billion. As of the end of May 2014, purchases and issuances totaled $91.8 billion.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), functioning as the conservator for Freddie Mac, announced a $99.5 million settlement with RBS Securities, Inc. The settlement resolves alleged violations of federal and state securities law in connection with private-label mortgage-backed securities (PLS) purchased by Freddie Mac during 2005 to 2007.

The FOMC concluded its June meeting with the announcement that members have once again voted to bring down the Federal Reserve's stimulative monthly asset purchases. Taking a cue from improvements in labor market indicators, household spending, and general economic activity, the committee members voted to reduce the Fed's monthly purchase of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to a combined $35 billion per month.

Ongoing settlement negotiations between Bank of America and the Justice Department reportedly reached a stalemate Monday. Citing "people briefed on the matter," the New York Times reported late Tuesday that the offer fell far short of the record $17 billion that prosecutors are seeking to resolve the state and federal investigations. BofA is seeking to continue negotiations while the government finishes readying its petition to file in federal court.

In a letter to clients, analysts at investment banking services firm FBR Capital Markets said they are lowering their 2014 origination outlook to $989 billion from an earlier forecast of nearly $1.1 trillion. "After an April where volumes had increased for the first time in a year, we had grown modestly more optimistic," the firm said. "Now, we believe May results could prove to be a leading indicator of what is shaping up to be the weakest ... year in recent memory."

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank again in April, continuing an uninterrupted streak of declines that started at the end of 2013. According to the enterprise's volume summary report, the book's total value contracted in April at a compound negative growth rate of 2.7 percent. As of April 30, the book's value was an estimated $3.14 trillion.

After sinking steadily for the last 10 months, new business activity has picked up a bit for Freddie Mac—though that didn't stop its portfolio from shrinking again. The mortgage giant released Wednesday its volume summary for April, recording a negative annualized growth rate of 3.0 percent for its total mortgage portfolio. It was the highest rate of contraction since October, when the portfolio shrank at a rate of 6.4 percent.

Fannie Mae’s book of business declined for the first three months of this year, ending the first quarter with a monthly compound annualized rate of -1.8 percent. Over the first quarter, the GSE’s book of business declined at a compound annualized rate of 2.2 percent. Fannie’s gross mortgage portfolio has also been on the decline over the first three months of this year, though at a much slower rate in March than in the first two months of the year.