The rating service’s proposal to notch ratings assigned by rival firms when assessing insurers didn’t sit well with the Justice Department, members of Congress and industry participants.

Volume increased in the risk-transfer deals issued by Freddie and Fannie. However, unpaid principal balance on the covered pools declined. (Includes data chart.)

Moody’s downgraded some of the tranches in loanDepot’s outstanding warehouse financing securitizations even after the company modified the transactions’ governing documents to meet new criteria.

Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo wants small banks, credit unions and community development financial institutions to have access to the Ginnie securitization program.

Small lenders may be able to avoid some of the margin requirements by diversifying the pool of broker-dealers they use for hedging.

The nation’s two largest “mREITs,” Annaly and AGNC, continued to shrink their securities holdings in the first quarter, but with the Fed moving to the sidelines, that trend could be ending.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had charged James Im, a former bond trader for Nomura Holdings, with fraud for inflating the prices of MBS he bought from and sold to investors.

With rates rising for much of the year, MBS trading has been weak but not exceedingly so. But thanks to recent carnage in the stock market, bonds may be “in” again.

Fannie Mae’s first-quarter earnings declined due to higher loan loss provisions, while Freddie Mac posted higher profits on the back of credit-related income. (Includes data chart.)

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin letting agency MBS run off on June 1, but has no plans to actually sell securities.