Small lenders may be able to avoid some of the margin requirements by diversifying the pool of broker-dealers they use for hedging.

Fannie Mae’s first-quarter earnings declined due to higher loan loss provisions, while Freddie Mac posted higher profits on the back of credit-related income. (Includes data chart.)

Higher prices on mortgages for highly qualified borrowers could mean more cross-subsidy for less qualified borrowers.

Fannie’s CEO is set to retire. The GSE chair is departing as well; Waterfall Asset Management launches non-agency MBS with Ginnie EBOs; hurricanes impacting performance of solar ABS.

The reputation of being a safe, liquid asset adds about 47 basis points to the “convenience premium” of agency MBS over investment grade bonds, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Issuance of agency real estate mortgage investment conduits/collateralized mortgage obligations was essentially flat in 2021, with Ginnie sharply increasing its volume while GSE issuance declined. (Includes data chart.)

Fannie resumed issuing credit-risk transfer notes in October after a long break. Still, GSE CRT issuance couldn’t match 2020’s volume. (Includes data chart.)

Both the new capital rule and updated eligibility requirements for GSE seller/servicers could affect participants.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to implement tiered financial requirements for nonbank servicers and set harsher treatment for Ginnie servicing than what’s currently required for GSE seller/servicers.

Mike Calhoun touts turning the GSEs into public utilities and using the government’s stake in them to address the homeownership gap.