Production of new MBS and ABS fell in almost every category during the first quarter of 2019, but several markets showed rebounding volume in March, a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis shows. Preliminary estimates indicate that a total of $310.04 billion of MBS and ABS was issued in the first three months of 2019, a 10.3% decline from the previous three-month period. It marked the softest quarter in new issuance since the April-June cycle ... [Includes three data charts]

The market leaders in rating non-agency MBS and non-mortgage ABS retained their top rankings in 2018. S&P Global was the top rating service in the ABS market, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis, after rating $142.24 billion of new issuance, an 11.6% percent increase from 2017. [Includes two data charts.]

Nonbanks continued to account for a growing share of new issuance in the agency single-family MBS market last year. [Includes one data chart.]

The Federal Reserve lost its top ranking among residential MBS investors during the fourth quarter of 2018, giving way to the commercial banking sector, according to a new In-side MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes three data charts.]

Real estate investment trusts increased their holdings of agency MBS during the fourth quarter of 2018, capping a solid year of growth, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

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.]

Commercial banks and savings institutions increased their investment in non-mortgage ABS during the fourth quarter of 2018, though the industry’s appetite for the product remained tepid. [Includes two data charts.]

Commercial banks and thrifts reversed a year-long trend during the fourth quarter of 2018 and increased their holdings of single-family MBS, a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis reveals. [Includes two data charts.]

The overall mortgage securitization rate fell slightly in 2018, with 70.0% of home loans originated in the primary market ending up in MBS pools, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

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.]