Three topics — ESG, COVID and George Floyd — dominated the past year in the mortgage market and will shape the GSEs’ future.

Investors bought more MBS in September than August if trading numbers are any indication. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Fed and the question of tapering.

The central bank may reduce its purchase of new agency MBS, but experts say it’s unlikely to allow current holdings to roll off. That reinvestment strategy means the Fed’s post-taper purchases could approach $60 billion in MBS a month.

Depending on how you count, Fannie/Freddie loan guarantees in 2022 will either generate almost $30 billion in lifetime savings for the federal government or result in a $5.5 billion loss.

Total non-agency MBS issuance was up only 3.6% from the second to the third quarter, and securitization of RPL and NPL deals fell sharply. But prime RMBS production surged dramatically.

The Fed will stop being the hog at the MBS trough, one of these days. Ramifications and opportunities for other buyers?

Investors purchase REIT stocks because of the dividends they provide. But with rates heading higher, which firms should be avoided?

Changes implemented in response to the financial crisis of 2008 helped the MBS and ABS markets perform better than expected at the onset of the pandemic.

The mortgage giant got the ball rolling with a $285 million offering of uniform MBS collateralized entirely of Home Possible mortgages.

Structured finance production held at historically high levels in the third quarter, though most sectors were down. Growth pockets included non-agency MBS and ABS. (Includes four data charts.)