Issuance in the first quarter of 2025 declined compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. However, issuance was above the level seen in the first quarter of 2024.

Issuance of new residential MBS, commercial MBS and ABS in early 2025 declined about 9% from the fourth quarter, although most sectors were up compared to a year ago. Monthly trends in March were mixed. (Includes three data tables.)

Agency refinance volume was down sharply in the first quarter but it got off to a faster start than in early 2024. Most measures of agency volume were down, but the share of higher-risk loans was trending higher. (Includes two data tables.)

Four rating services gained on Fitch in 2024 in terms of rating share for non-agency MBS issuance.

The turnaround in servicing profitability was driven by markups in the value of mortgage servicing rights net of hedging efforts.

For the full year, seller repurchases and indemnifications totaled $2.41 billion.

Fannie reported a 3.6% increase in seller repurchases during the fourth quarter, while Freddie volume was essentially flat. For the year, lender buybacks were down 36% from 2023. (Includes three data tables.)

Most lenders reported significant improvement in servicing profitability that was driven by MSR markups. But results varied greatly on the production side, where lenders that rely on TPO channels fared much better. (Includes data tables.)

Fitch, Kroll and DBRS continued to dominate the business of rating non-agency MBS in 2024, but S&P and Moody’s remained heavy hitters in rating ABS.

The rate of growth for non-agency MBS outstanding in 2024 was four times that of the growth in agency MBS.