Servicing-released premiums on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac whole loans sold into the secondary market are the best they have been in at least five years – and perhaps longer – thanks to higher interest rates, according to interviews conducted this week by Inside The GSEs. “We’ve seen a consistent increase in mortgage servicing rights values since early in the first quarter as a result of greater degrees of certainty for higher interest rates,” said Tom Piercy, managing director of Incenter Mortgage Advisors, Denver. “While the rate curve is not anticipated to be steep, confidence is high that rates will trend higher, hence less volatility around MSR values,” he added. “Combine this with lower production volume and we are seeing SRPs from aggregators increase.”