Recent inflation trends along with the strong jobs report for January “suggest the lower likelihood of a rate cut” at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting, according to Joel Kan, a vice president and deputy chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Issuance of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities increased by 3.5% on a monthly basis in January.

Fannie projects that the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will hold at 6.1% in the second quarter before declining to 6.0% in the third quarter and then remain at that level through the end of 2027.

Armour’s investment portfolio increased by 60% on an annual basis to $20.0 billion as of the end of 2025.

The portfolios include both MBS and mortgages, with MBS holdings at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up nearly 60% on a quarterly basis in the fourth quarter of 2025.

MFA Financial's net income in the fourth quarter increased 12.9% from the quarter prior.

Union Home Mortgage hired a national vice president of mergers and acquisitions.

The Fed will soon issue a proposal to loosen capital requirements for bank holdings of mortgage servicing rights and a proposal loosening capital requirements for mortgages held in portfolio by banks.

The increase in issuance occurred across several categories, including a 79.2% surge in volume tied to loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises.

David Spector, CEO of Pennymac Financial Services, said the firm’s correspondent aggregation platform is facing increasing competition from the GSEs’ cash window.