jbancroft@imfpubs.com

Production of new mortgage- and asset-backed securities boomed in the second quarter of 2019, though issuance halfway through the year remained below the level seen in 2018.

The market generated $414.70 billion of new MBS and ABS during the second quarter, a 33.3% increase from the first three months of the year. Despite the surge in the second quarter, production in the first half of the year was down 2.9% from the first half of 2018.

The bulk of MBS and ABS issuance is concentrated in agency single-family MBS. Non-mortgage ABS issuance totaled $63.24 billion in the second quarter, a 7.2% increase from the first three months of the year.

For more details, see the new issue of Inside MBS & ABS.