Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taking different approaches to unloading the reperforming loans in their portfolios.

What a difference a year can make. Last spring, the REIT was getting margin-called and selling MBS. Today, it’s buying huge mortgage banking franchises.

Slumping purchase-mortgage business in the agency MBS market was a big factor in the 6% downturn in total MBS-ABS-CMBS issuance in the first quarter of 2021. Agency business rebounded in March, however.

Securitizing mortgages can be expensive and recent PSPA changes might force the hand of smaller lenders, at least that’s how some trade groups see it. (Includes three data charts.)

Commercial banks, the Federal Reserve and foreign buyers remained the biggest investors in U.S. residential MBS, a market that saw Freddie and Fannie expand at Ginnie's expense. (Includes three data charts.)

February marked the fifth month in a row when agency MBS issuance topped $300 billion. Although purchase-mortgage business fell significantly, refi remained strong. (Includes two data charts.)

The Federal Reserve wants to continue buying agency MBS at its current pace, which should keep rates and spreads down for the foreseeable future.

Fannie and Freddie both grew their portfolios of whole loans targeted for the securitization process while reducing the amount of their own MBS holdings. (Includes data chart.)

So far, performance of the multifamily businesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2021 resembles 2020. It’s not clear if these similarities will persist.