The average daily trading volume in agency MBS totaled $195.7 billion in April, the lowest reading of the year and third worst over the past 12 months, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. The low trading volume is an indication that liquidity is drying up, but it also reflects a decline in new agency MBS being created. According to figures recently compiled by Inside MBS & ABS, lenders issued...
President Trump’s tax plan would raise the federal debt, but could benefit residential MBS, consumer ABS and asset-backed commercial paper, depending mostly on the effect on the underlying obligors’ after-tax income, according to a recent research report from Moody’s Investors Service. “The administration’s blueprint proposes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, which would also apply to partnerships and other ‘pass-through’ businesses that are currently taxed through their principals’ individual returns,” analysts explained. The White House plan also features...
Officials at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say pilot deals that feature added primary mortgage insurance at the front end of the securitization process are a useful addition to their credit-risk transfer programs even if their future looks somewhat limited. Speaking at a CRT conference in New York City this week, Robert Schaefer, Fannie’s vice president for credit enhancement strategy and management, called the transactions “a good tool in the toolkit,” but said he doesn’t see them taking over the majority of CRTs. Gina Healy, Freddie’s vice president of credit risk transfers, agreed...
A unique disclosure Freddie Mac is providing in risk-sharing transactions can help provide MBS investors with forward-looking insight about mortgage performance, according to an analysis by Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Freddie started disclosing updated loan-to-value ratios for mortgages in its Structured Agency Credit Risk transactions in March 2016. On a quarterly basis, the government-sponsored enterprise discloses the estimated current LTVs based on Home Value Explorer (HVE), its proprietary automated valuation model. Connecticut Avenue Securities risk-sharing transactions from Fannie Mae don’t include a similar disclosure. KBRA noted...
Publicly traded nonbank mortgage lenders and servicers reported weak earnings during the first quarter of 2017, according to an Inside Mortgage Trends summary. The nine nonbank lenders posted a combined profit of $116.69 million for the first three months of the year. That was down 79.4 percent from the fourth quarter, although it represented a huge improvement from the $509.68 million loss the group recorded in the first three months of 2016 ... [Includes one data chart]
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