The overall mortgage securitization rate fell slightly in 2018, with 70.0% of home loans originated in the primary market ending up in MBS pools, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

Approval of new MBS issuers by Ginnie Mae fell drastically in 2018. Data provided by the agency showed that only eight out of 28 applications received last year were approved. In the year before, Ginnie approved 22 out of 31 applications.

In a bid to expand its access to rental housing credit, Redwood Trust last week announced plans to partner on a deal to acquire up to $1 billion in whole loans from Freddie Mac.

New production of single-family MBS started the new year on a downbeat, with combined issuance by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae slipping to $80.72 billion in January, ac-cording to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. [Includes two data charts.]

Surprising no one, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday decided not to raise the target rate on federal funds above the current 2.25 percent. The vote, as usual, was unanimous.

Depending on what type of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac reform occurs in the next few years, there’s a growing concern in the market that foreign investors — and others — may shy away from their MBS unless there’s an explicit guarantee on the securities.

Nonbank mortgage operations continued their assault on the agency MBS market in 2018, increasing their penetration in both new issuance and servicing. [Includes two data charts.]

An estimated $9.6 billion of Ginnie Mae securities backed by FHA-insured reverse mortgages were issued in 2018, down from $10.5 billion a year ago, according to New View Advisors.

The Community Home Lenders Association has expressed concerns that Ginnie Mae is on a mission to reduce the number of MBS issuers and tighten credit standards — moves that would affect its core members and hurt its housing mission.

Commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations are a valuable financing tool, albeit with some risks, industry officials said at a conference sponsored by the CRE Finance Council in Miami last week.