With the U.S. debt ceiling resolution far from certain, investors in agency MBS are being careful in terms of financing and leverage. A U.S. default also has ramifications for outstanding MBS and ABS.
Banks have gone from being reliable buyers of agency MBS to cautious holders of the securities, prompting wider spreads and opportunities for nonbank investors.
New disclosure portal for Freddie MBS investors; Ginnie details LIBOR transition plan for multifamily MBS; Andrew Davidson offers prepayment analysis for specified pools; DBRS proposes revisions to rep and warrant criteria.
MBS spreads to Treasuries continue to be fat at roughly 140 bps. But what if there’s a government debt default? Might the equation turn or will it be so ugly it won’t matter? Analysts are trying to make sense of it all.
AGNC CEO is comfortable with FDIC’s plans for sales of MBS held by failed banks; Morgan Stanley revives jumbo MBS; UBS prepares for legacy residential MBS action by DOJ; Chase offers RPLs in non-agency MBS.
Sure, big banks have sizeable unrealized losses from MBS classified as held-to-maturity. But as long as the banks don’t sell the MBS, the losses remain unrealized.
The hedge advisor’s automation of the assignment-of-trade process allows lenders to save on bid-ask spreads and increases efficiencies for correspondent investors.
Ginnie officials meet with government and private finance entities in Taiwan and South Korea; Chase hopes to use securitization to reduce capital requirements; Fitch downgrades PacWest’s credit-risk transfer deal; KBRA gives all clear on bank exposure in non-agency MBS.