“Patch” loans, cash-out refinances, investment loans and second family homes constitute more than 50% of the dollar volume of Fannie and Freddie MBS issuance.

Industry observers worry that FHFA’s failure to complete its final capital rule, and Treasury’s delay releasing its plan for housing-finance reform, may push the end of the sweep into next year.

Calabria reports to Congress on the outlook for Fannie and Freddie. Then asks for powers like those of the FDIC and other financial regulators, including the authority to issue charters for new GSEs.

Fannie saw significant gains in both purchase and refinance business in April. Wells Fargo was dethroned as the top GSE seller for the month.

Fannie and Freddie have another profitable quarter, in spite of substantial hedging losses. No sign, though, that the net sweep will end soon.

Freddie Mac increased its production of single-family mortgage-backed securities at a time when its two secondary market competitors saw significant declines in volume. [Includes two data charts.]

The Federal Home Loans Banks’ combined net income for the fourth quarter fell to $791 million, an 8.7% decline from the fourth quarter of 2017. Year-over-year, net income rose slightly to $3.56 billion in 2018. But this apparent stability masked dramatic swings elsewhere on the income statement. [Includes one data chart.]

Despite a slow fourth quarter, 2018 turned out to be the most profitable year since 2013 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And, although only a fraction of the size of the GSEs’ single-family business, multifamily remained a bright spot. [Includes one data chart.]

In a report released late Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mulled over the future of the so-called “GSE patch,” which exempts qualified mortgages at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the CFPB rules limiting debt-to-income ratios to 43 percent.