Most of the fourth-quarter activity came from the Federal Reserve’s efforts to enhance its holdings of Freddie Mac paper.

Bank holdings of non-mortgage ABS slumped to $82 billion at the end of 2024, the lowest level in 17 years. One bright spot was bank investment in ABS backed by unsecured consumer loans. (Includes two data tables.)

The Fed shifted its efforts to aggregate scattered MBS into second-level securitizations to its Freddie Mac portfolio. Ginnie's Platinum program didn't get a lot of use last year, but the agency led the way in REMIC issuance. (Includes two data tables.)

The increase was driven by refinances.

Most of the decline was in held-to-maturity accounts, but that may have been the result of an accounting reclassification.

While the fair value of bank MBS declined in the fourth quarter, the industry reported a slight gain on an amortized-cost basis. Bank of America led the ranking of bank MBS investors, though its portfolio fell $27 billion. (Includes two data tables.)

The VA, FHA and even private MIs posted big gains in writing insurance for refinance loans in the fourth quarter while purchase-mortgage business saw a seasonal decline. (Includes four data tables.)

Earnings reports from 26 publicly traded banks show just over half reported gains in mortgage-banking income from 3Q to 4Q.

Hedging shifting values of mortgage servicing rights continued to be a major factor in bank mortgage-banking activity as production income remained strong despite a sag in volume. (Includes data table.)

Although overall non-agency CMBS issuance fell slightly in the fourth quarter, volume was up in deals backed by retail and lodging properties. Agency multifamily activity quickened in the second half of 2024 but still came up a little short of the previous year. (Includes two data tables.)