The average daily trading volume in agency MBS totaled $222.5 billion in October, a slight dip from the month prior, but the third best reading of the year, according to figures compiled by the Secu-rities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The special qualified-mortgage treatment for home loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises is getting more attention lately as some say that it gives Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac an unfair advantage.

Annaly Capital Management increased its agency MBS holdings by 16.1 percent in the third quarter. Its closest competitor among real estate investment trusts specializing in the space, AGNC In-vestment Corp., pushed up its investment by 13.3 percent.

With uncertainty regarding whether the London Interbank Offered Rate will continue to be pub-lished after 2021, the Federal Reserve is considering establishing an alternative reference rate for indus-try participants.

A proposal in the House Republican tax reform bill significantly lowering the corporate tax rate, at first glance, may seem to put mortgage real estate investment trusts at a competitive disadvantage with non-REITs. However, the disparity would remain beneficial for REITs, according to tax experts.

New issuance of MBS backed by income-property mortgages jumped sharply in the third quarter of 2017, hitting levels not reached in over a decade, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis.

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week unveiled key performance indicators (KPIs) for deal agents to track in new non-agency MBS. The measurements were developed by a group of in-dustry participants to help guide deal agents in protecting MBS investors.

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week unveiled key performance indicators for deal agents to track in new non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The proposed standards detail 150 measurements for deal agents to monitor. Ocwen Financial reported a net loss of $6.14 million for the third quarter of 2017. The loss would have been worse if not for a one-time tax benefit of $23.2 million related to the release of previously established reserves ... [Includes three briefs]

Freddie Mac significantly reduced its holdings of nonprime mortgage-backed securities in the third quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Freddie held $5.14 billion of nonprime MBS as of the end of September, down 52.2 percent from June. The government-sponsored enterprise sold approximately $5.00 billion of its non-agency MBS holdings during the quarter, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ... [Includes one data chart]

Members of the House who are drafting housing-finance reform legislation are tackling a number of issues that impact the non-agency market. At a hearing last week by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, Chairman Sean Duffy, R-WI, said the panel’s recent hearings were aimed at getting feedback for a new legislative proposal. Duffy also stressed that the effort should be bipartisan. “I believe that if we’re going to be successful not just in ...