The mortgage industry keeps pining for a rate cut but so far the Fed has resisted. This week, a hotter-than-anticipated CPI reading stalled momentum on the rate front and MBS prices headed lower.

Lenders typically hedge loans by short selling the type of security those loans will eventually go into. However, if the market for that security is unattractive, they can cross-hedge into better performing markets if their pricing movement correlates with the loans.

The diversification inherent in MBS may be the ideal tool to combat climate risk in housing finance.

The flow of refinance mortgages into agency MBS rose smartly from January to February. And year-to-date total issuance was up slightly from early 2023.

Prepayments on VA loans in Ginnie MBS jumped in February and will likely remain elevated in March. It’s a recurrence of an ongoing problem for Ginnie and VA: streamlined refinance business.

Banks, the largest holders of agency MBS among investor groups, aren’t expected to be big buyers this year. Money managers helped to fill the void left by banks last year, but that might not continue into 2024.

Ginnie Mae last week announced revisions to its issuer eligibility requirements to participate in its manufactured housing MBS program.

Attendance at the SFVegas conference this year hit another record. Demand for MBS and ABS is exceptionally strong, with few concerns on the immediate horizon.

Mortgage REITs mostly treaded water in the fourth quarter, although aggregate industry holdings were down slightly from the previous period. (Includes two data tables.)

If the central bank was required to mark its securities holdings to market, it would be more than $1 trillion in the hole, according to a new research paper.