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.

The flexibility is part of an effort by Ginnie Mae to make its digital collateral program more attractive.

The trade group addressed common pay-history questions ranging from recency expectations to credit reports as a source of payment history.

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

More than $100 billion of loans in commercial MBS have maturity dates this year. Refinancing the loans could be difficult given interest rate movements and declining revenues from commercial properties.

KBRA introduced a new ABS rating methodology for data centers and Fitch updated its ratings criteria for equipment lease and loan ABS.

President Trump’s announcement that the GSEs will buy $200 billion of agency MBS prompted mortgage spreads to tighten by about 20 basis points and some lenders to offer mortgages below 6.00%.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed industry speculation that President Trump directed the GSEs to purchase $200 billion in MBS to offset Federal Reserve policy.

CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought noted his disagreement with the court’s opinion in his funding request to the Fed. Vought’s time at the bureau is on the clock under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase increased mortgage production during the fourth quarter.