WaFd Bank replacing whole-loan holdings with MBS; solar ABS on downgrade watch; dv01 expands into credit card ABS.

President Trump effectively directed the GSEs to fill in the role that the Fed had been serving in terms of agency MBS investments. The stimulus could be short lived, with the purchases expected to wrap up by June.

A mortgage with a prepayment penalty might be as much as 65 basis points cheaper for borrowers, according to GSE shareholder Bill Ackman.

SFA’s new director of advocacy comes from CSBS; Ginnie adjusts platinum MBS pooling; earnings per share at Orchid Island Capital up in fourth quarter; Setpoint to acquire due diligence provider.

Goldman Sachs expects UWM to sell Two Harbors’ MBS portfolio once its planned acquisition of the real estate investment trust is complete.

As long as the GSEs are profit-seeking entities, Urban Institute analysts suggest that allowing Fannie and Freddie to buy large amounts of agency MBS would leave the GSEs “with every incentive to swell their balance sheets to enormous levels during these periods of volatility.”

The securitization rate for residential mortgages originated during the third quarter was near the same level seen in 2019. Meanwhile, the share of GSE-eligible mortgages that flowed into MBS increased.

Freddie sets an end date for investors to exchange legacy securities for those created as part of the single security initiative.

Fannie and Freddie have upped their retained MBS holdings significantly in recent months, as have the Federal Home Loan Banks. Analysts expect money managers and insurance firms to remain key investors. (Includes two data tables.)

RiskSpan is piloting a platform that would provide the FHLBanks much more precise and timely views into the status and quality of the mortgage loans pledged against their advances.