Over the last couple of weeks, the Federal Reserve has slowly tapered its MBS purchases. But even with healthy MBS prices, mortgage rates remain higher than formula dictates.

Analysts estimate that GSE forbearance programs will ultimately cost servicers between $80 billion and $150 billion in advances and escrow payments, bolstering the theory that only the Federal Reserve has the wherewithal to provide interim financing.

Former Freddie Mae CEO Don Layton suggests short- and long-term solutions for the liquidity problems faced by nonbank mortgage servicers.

One of the early casualties of the coronavirus outbreak is the much-anticipated, re-proposed capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Federal Reserve operations this week swallowed up more than $39.8 billion in agency MBS, including about $31.7 billion in uniform MBS.

SOFR-linked debt is vulnerable to much higher rate volatility than those referencing LIBOR. This risk was highlighted last month when surging repo rates sent SOFR briefly to a record 5.25%.

FHFA’s Calabria said capital rules for Fannie and Freddie don’t take place in a vacuum; they influence other financial decisions as well.

Fannie warns that the loss reserves required by the new FASB standard may exceed its retained earnings in the first quarter of 2020.

Economists test whether increasing conforming loan limits raises the level of homeownership.

When the Federal Reserve has finally “normalized” its balance sheet, allowing much of the $4.25 trillion in Treasuries and agency securities that it acquired through quantitative easing to gradually run off, there will still be as much as $1 trillion on the ledger, according to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last week.