All eyes are now focused on the TBA market to see if the new single security from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae creates the expected bump in liquidity and efficiency.
The sharp downturn in purchase-money loans going into Fannie and Freddie MBS was accompanied by an even bigger drop in deliveries of loans with private mortgage insurance.
The secondary mortgage market could be in for historic change in the wake of President Trump this week ordering the Treasury Department to end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and come up with a new paradigm.
The difference between the weighted average coupon on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS soared to an average of 10 basis points in January, with Fannie pools showing consistently higher spreads. According to a report by Wells Fargo Securities last month, the wide gap may be because Fannie is offering sweeter guarantee-fee buy-up/buy-down deals to some issuers.
New production of agency single-family MBS fell for the sixth month in a row in Febru-ary, sinking to the lowest monthly output in nearly five years. [Includes two data charts.]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac racked up $25.19 billion in combined net income in 2018, their most profitable year since 2013, when earnings were inflated by accounting rules for deferred tax assets. [Includes one data chart.]
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