Freddie Mac saw its share of new MBS issuance climb to 48.5% in the second quarter, though heavy lender sales of seasoned loans accounted for some of the gain.

The indictment of apartment mogul Robert Morgan and several of his associates may have accelerated the prepayment speeds of dozens of Fannie’s and Freddie’s multifamily MBS.

One of the last legal dramas from the subprime crisis took a surprise turn last week when FHFA sued Wells over a case that had been settled earlier this year. At stake: more than $1 billion in RMBS issued 13 years ago.

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.

The long saga of the Single Security Initiative culminates in what’s supposed to be a more liquid and efficient TBA market as Fannie and Freddie issue their first common securities over the CSP.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got proportionally more of their single-family business from large-volume sellers in the first quarter, although production was down sharply in every seller category. [Includes two data charts.]

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 uniform MBS is scheduled to launch in just over three months, but there is still some confusion about how it will affect investors in the to-be-announced market. Earlier this month, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Investment Company Institute, in a joint letter, urged the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to clarify certain diversification requirements under the single security initiative.

After a year and a half of following its carefully scripted plan to normalize its balance sheet and return to good, old-fashioned monetary policy, the Federal Reserve muddied the waters at last week’s meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee.