A possible cyber attack on the GSEs was one of the focuses of a semi-annual report to Congress by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General. The computer systems of Fannie and Freddie could be vulnerable to security breaches and unauthorized access, according to the report, which noted that the IG specifically worries about hackers possibly stealing confidential information and/or planting computer viruses within the systems of the GSEs. “Among other things, a breach of an enterprise’s security system could disrupt its business operations or result in the unauthorized disclosure or misuse, computer viruses or other malicious codes, or other attempts to harm them or misuse or steal confidential information,” said the report.
Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new business volume in the first quarter represented a huge increase from the feeble start back in early 2014, with all major markets showing strong gains.A new Inside The GSEs analysis of GSE business lenders in the first quarter shows that California posted one of the biggest gains compared to a year ago. The Golden State produced $44.95 billion of new Fannie/Freddie mortgages, up 69.6 percent from the first quarter of 2014. Over that same period, GSE business grew by 43.3 percent nationally.As usual, California accounted for a substantial Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new business volume in the first quarter represented a huge increase from the feeble start back in early 2014, with all major markets showing strong gains.A new Inside The GSEs analysis of GSE business lenders in the first quarter shows that California posted one of the biggest gains compared to a year ago. The Golden State produced $44.95 billion of new Fannie/Freddie mortgages, up 69.6 percent from the first quarter of 2014. Over that same period, GSE business grew by 43.3 percent nationally.
The mortgage market faces a big challenge when the Federal Reserve figures out how to unload its massive $1.7 trillion portfolio of agency MBS, but anticipated widening of spreads could at least improve market liquidity. The fixed-income market has seen a sharp decline in trading volume resulting in part from regulatory issues, said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, during the group’s annual secondary market conference in New York this week. “Banks have been hoarding liquidity instead of providing it to the market,” he said. Average daily trading volume of MBS has dropped...
Officials involved in the development of the common securitization platform and the single, interchangeable MBS for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have vowed not to publicize any timetable for the project. And despite several attempts to get an answer during a panel session at this week’s secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association, they stuck to their plan. They went out of their way to stress that they haven’t forgotten about potential non-agency users sometime down the road. But that’s...
In April, the average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $187.8 billion, the worst reading of the year and a possible harbinger of problems to come. One market participant, speaking under the condition his name not be used, likened it to MBS buyers “going on strike.” He added: “Right now, you have an illiquid market, and that’s not a good thing.” In December of last year, the MBS trading volume was...
Commercial banks and thrifts reported robust growth in their MBS portfolios during early 2015, including a special appetite for Ginnie Mae MBS, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis of call-report data. Commercial banks and thrifts held $1.579 trillion of residential MBS at the end of March, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous quarter. It was the industry’s biggest MBS portfolio since the third quarter of 2012, when banks and thrifts held a record $1.617 trillion of mortgage securities. The biggest gain was...[Includes two data tables]
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