The president is getting more assertive in using the GSEs to achieve political and policy objectives, according to Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at TD Cowen Washington Research Group.

Balance-sheet normalization at the Fed leads to spread widening, but with a significant lag and focused on premium coupons.

The flow of refis into agency MBS nearly halved during the third quarter. Purchase-mortgage volume was up 12.5% on a sequential basis; but over the first nine months, it was up only 1.3% year over year. (Includes two data tables.)

Large lenders are flocking to deploy VantageScore 4.0, but others are being more cautious due to shifting GSE guidelines. There’s also uncertainty for investors in MBS and MSRs.

Urban Institute researchers believe credit score gaming by lenders will raise scores for 44% of borrowers. Officials at FICO claim shopping appears to be occurring now that the GSEs accept VantageScore.

With interest rates on mortgages rising, some agency business shifted to Ginnie Mae in the second quarter of 2026. Rocket surpassed UWM as the top issuer of agency MBS during the quarter. (Includes two data tables.)

MBS investors aren’t sure how VantageScore scores compare with classic FICO scores. And a variety of systems used in the mortgage market need to be updated to allow for two scoring models.

VantageScore’s CEO said he doesn’t think FICO’s trended data score will be operational with the GSEs anytime soon.

Early interest in the VantageScore 4.0 pilot has been strong, but participants note that the new score can be up to 100 points different from Classic FICO.

FHFA Director Bill Pulte said 21 large lenders will roll out the new score with the GSEs, though all lenders are eligible. FHA also plans to accept VantageScore and FICO 10T.