A number of lenders said they have put an increased emphasis on jumbo ARMs due to the rise in interest rates that started in May of 2013.

The only sector that has a higher securitization rate is the government-insured market, where Ginnie Mae production represented 98.5 percent of FHA and VA lending.

The Fed has promised to “taper” its MBS and Treasury investments in the months ahead, but with MBS issuance on the decline because of falling originations, the central bank likely will maintain or even increase its market share of purchases.

An estimated $272 billion of non-agency jumbos were originated in 2013, accounting for 14.4 percent of total production.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sold some nonprime mortgage-backed securities during 2013 even though the government-sponsored enterprises have seen strong returns on these holdings in recent quarters. The GSEs held a total of $84.61 billion in nonprime MBS as of the end of 2013, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The holdings declined by 18.2 percent compared with the end of 2012 due to a combination of ... [Includes one data chart]

Bipartisan legislation in the Senate to reform the government-sponsored enterprises would maintain the high-cost conforming loan limits, according to a summary of the draft bill released this week. The bill signals a shift as other GSE reform efforts in Congress have contemplated a gradual reduction of high-cost conforming loan limits. Leaders of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs announced this week that they reached an agreement on what will be included ...

Publicly traded real estate investment trusts reported a 13.5 percent decline in their holdings of residential MBS during the fourth quarter, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. The industry reported $264.8 billion of residential MBS at the end of 2013, a 26.4 percent drop from the fourth quarter of 2012. The five largest REIT MBS investors all reported double-digit drops during the final three months of 2013, while the mid-range companies generally had smaller declines and three smaller firms actually grew their portfolios. At the top of the table, Annaly Capital Management reported...[Includes one data chart]

The five largest REIT MBS investors all reported double-digit drops during the final three months of 2013, while the mid-range companies generally had smaller declines and three smaller firms actually grew their portfolios.

Profits flowing from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are poised to be the multi-billion dollar gift that keeps on giving, and could return nearly $180 billion to the Treasury Department over the next decade, according to a White House analysis. The analysis, which is part of the Obama administration’s 2015 budget, assumes the two government-sponsored enterprises will remain in operation and continue to pay dividends to the government under the current “net worth sweep” arrangement. The cumulative budgetary impact of the senior preferred stock purchase agreements will generate...

It may be temporary, but residential mortgage debt outstanding fell in the fourth quarter. For buyers of servicers that means less product is available (in theory).