Commercial banks and savings institutions kept increasing their stake in agency mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis.
Commercial banks and savings institutions continued to grow their investments in agency MBS during the second quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. Banks and thrifts held $1.583 trillion of agency and non-agency MBS on their balance sheets at the end of June. That was up just 0.3 percent from the first quarter, but it was the highest level since the first nine months of 2012, when bank and thrift MBS holdings topped $1.60 trillion. All the gain came...[Includes two data tables]
Fannie Mae on Thursday unveiled that Lone Star (LSF9 Mortgage Holdings) was the sole winning bidder on its second sale of non-performing mortgages. The auction was marketed in late July and is expected to settle Sept. 25.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to increase their focus on the multifamily segment, which generated growing income for the two government-sponsored enterprises during the second quarter. Freddie Mac’s comprehensive income for multifamily grew by $102 million to $366 million for the second quarter. The increase was primarily due to higher unrealized gains on available-for-sale-securities. New purchase volume remained...
On Wednesday, Freddie Mac announced that it guaranteed its second multifamily small balance loan securitization. The government-sponsored enterprise expects to guarantee approximately $109 billion in SB Certificates and plans to price them next week.
Investors have a lot more to worry about these days than the collateral damage stemming from problems in Greece and China and a bumpy U.S. stock market. Ratings analysts indicate some new energy-related risks – most notably earthquakes near “fracking” sites and a plunge in the price of oil – have emerged as potentially significant challenges to investors in real estate and to mortgage lenders. Analysts at Standard & Poor’s said in a recent client note that earthquakes in proximity to fracking sites introduce a unique risk factor into the investment equation for those with a stake in real estate located in affected regions. “In particular, determining whether or not earthquake coverage is...
Despite former Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Ed DeMarco's call for comprehensive reform of the nation's housing finance system and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the analysts at Compass Point Research & Trading remain convinced "that there is neither the legislative capacity nor political will to address housing finance reform in this Congress."
A recent shift in the purchase-mortgage market share toward the government-sponsored enterprises appears to be part of seasonal home buying patterns rather than direct competition for mortgages with low downpayments.