Fannie and Freddie in 2019 topped the $1 trillion mark for the first time since 2013 thanks to an unexpected surge of refinance business in the second half of the year. (Includes two data charts.)
The FHFA has been pushing Fannie and Freddie to reduce the risk profile of the loans they acquire, and that effort appears to be taking hold as the share of high-risk new business fell drastically in the fourth quarter. (Includes two data charts.)
Vehicle-finance transactions and ABS backed by a variety of business-finance assets were the mainstays in 2019’s modest increase in new issuance. Consumer-finance deals saw significant growth but accounted for just 6% of the market. (Includes two data charts.)
Small institutions were the fastest-growing segment of the banking industry in terms of retail mortgage originations in the third quarter of 2019. (Includes two data charts.)
While the Fed was shrinking its agency MBS portfolio by $54.5 billion during the third quarter, commercial banks increased theirs by $56.2 billion and money managers added $23.8 billion. (Includes two data charts.)
The non-agency MBS sector faltered during the third quarter. According to the Federal Reserve, the outstanding supply of non-agency MBS fell another 2.1% from June to $452.17 billion.