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.)

Volume for both purchase mortgages and refis was down at the mortgage giant, but profits increased on the back of higher home prices.

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

Fannie and Freddie continue to take different routes to reducing their retained mortgages portfolios.

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.