The value of agency MBS declined sharply following the start of the war with Iran. More recently, volatility has declined, prompting some major agency MBS investors to see continued promise in the assets.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear to be buying more MBS at times when spreads widen. They’re also hedging the purchases with interest rate swaps, according to industry participants.

The Treasury Market Practices Group released a white paper identifying how a change in the ownership structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could impact the broader financial markets.

Combining machine learning techniques with more traditional accounting is making it possible to predict both whether a loan will prepay and when.

A recent paper co-authored by Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran identifies several policy changes that would allow the Fed’s SOMA to be reduced by up to $2.13 trillion.

S&P was the top ABS rating service in the fourth quarter and finished narrowly behind Fitch for all of 2025. Kroll held the top spot in MBS ratings for the year despite a strong challenge from Fitch. (Includes two data tables.)

Market participants say the surge in GSE purchases is part of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce mortgage rates and spreads.

The revised proposals would reduce capital requirements for banks, both for MBS holdings and whole loans in portfolio. The change would provide incentives for banks to retain more originations in portfolio.

Some 68.0% of mortgages originated in 2025 were sold into MBS. Securitization rates were stable across most products, except for expanded-credit mortgages, where the securitization rate increased sharply. (Includes data table.)

One of the GSEs has quietly issued an MBS comprised of loans underwritten using VantageScore 4.0.