Residential MBS issuance took the biggest hit from skyrocketing interest rates in 2022, but commercial MBS and ABS production were also down significantly from the previous year. (Includes three data charts.)

With lenders pushing mortgages that include a temporary buydown feature, MBS investors are pondering prepayment behavior for the loans. Expect loans with temporary buydowns to exhibit prepayment speeds similar to ARMs, according to an industry analyst.

Fees associated with MBS trades and other services provided by the Fixed Income Clearing Corp. increased Jan. 1. The FICC said the fee hike was necessary due to lower revenues and higher expenses.

Ginnie’s budget increases for FY 2023; Ginnie senior vice president found to have violated the Code of Federal Relations; Ginnie aligns eNote standards with GSEs; industry-driven FHA loss-mitigation proposals include some potential changes to Ginnie’s standards.

Interest rates have been falling of late, which is bolstering MBS values. Still, trading volume continues to decline as the year winds down.

Final regulations implementing the Adjustable Interest Rate Act will go into effect next month, setting the stage for a smooth transition for the end of the London Inter-bank Offer Rate.

The Federal Open Market Committee left unchanged its plans to reduce the Federal Reserve’s holdings of agency MBS.

The tide may be turning for MBS-gobbling real estate investment trusts. If you’re an investor looking for a buy-low, sell-high trade, this may be it. That is, as long as rates don’t reverse course and head higher. Meanwhile, it’s almost a year since SoFi became an FDIC-insured bank.

Ginnie Mae has ranked as the top agency issuer of single-family MBS for three months running, echoing the market of the 1990s. Production levels continued to drop in November, and it’s hard to see when that will change. (Includes two data charts.)

The 2017 revisions to Basel III may impact the capital treatment of securitizations, but not before 2025.