Both GSEs posted their highest monthly volume of single-family MBS issuance since January 2017. Purchase-mortgage and refinance business rose significantly.

The GSEs continue to offload delinquent loans in their mortgage portfolios, bringing the tally of loans sold since 2014 to 117,466 with an unpaid balance of more than $22 billion. Page 9.

Seller repurchases of defective loans dropped to the second-lowest total on record, but Freddie repurchases remained significantly higher than Fannie's. The volume of unresolved claims was up from the fourth quarter.

Fannie's MBS issuance was up significantly from April to May while Freddie posted a smaller monthly gain. Purchase mortgages and refinancing both rose substantially.

Larger banks pull back on advances as mortgage lending cools.

The Golden State's high concentration of broker loans and refinancing is reflected in its top two sellers: United Wholesale Mortgage and Quicken Loans.

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.

Banks and thrifts racked up $571 billion of advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system at the end of 2018, a 3.3% sequential gain but off 1.9% from a year ago, according to an analysis by Inside The GSEs. [Includes one data chart.]