Real estate investment trusts that focus on the MBS market recorded a modest increase in their MBS holdings during the first quarter of 2017, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. And observers say a pending change in how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac structure their credit-risk transfer programs may boost REIT participation further. The 15 mortgage REITs tracked by Inside MBS & ABS reported a combined $230.82 billion of MBS investment at the end of March, including assets held in the to-be-announced market. That was up 1.6 percent from the end of 2016, though it was still off from year-ago levels. Some 91.8 percent of REIT MBS holdings are...[Includes one data table]
President Trump’s tax plan would raise the federal debt, but could benefit residential MBS, consumer ABS and asset-backed commercial paper, depending mostly on the effect on the underlying obligors’ after-tax income, according to a recent research report from Moody’s Investors Service. “The administration’s blueprint proposes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, which would also apply to partnerships and other ‘pass-through’ businesses that are currently taxed through their principals’ individual returns,” analysts explained. The White House plan also features...
The Securities and Exchange Commission this week charged two former head traders who ran the commercial MBS desk at Nomura Securities International with lying intentionally to customers to boost the profits of the firm as well as their commissions. The SEC complaint alleged that traders James Im and Kee Chan inflated the price on CMBS they bought and sold for customers on the secondary market. In certain instances, the two traders allegedly pretended they were negotiating bond purchases with a third-party seller at a higher price when Nomura had already purchased the bonds at a lower price. According to the SEC, the fraud generated...
RSS