In 1Q, the residential MBS sector was down 7.1 percent from 4Q15 with $277.05 billion in new issuance. It was the lowest output since the second quarter of 2014...

There was a modest 1.8 percent increase in refinance business, and refi loans accounted for over half (52.1 percent) of GSE business in the first quarter – the first time refi activity exceeded purchase lending since early last year.

This so-called agency “patch” was set up to last for seven years, or until 2021...

The link between loan sales and mortgage-banking income can be squishy…

Except for 2012, the biggest year in program activity, most of the loans originated under HARP had rates above today’s levels.

An estimated $1.21 trillion of newly-originated home loans were pooled in mortgage securities last year.

The GSEs’ retained portfolios are shrinking, but whole-loan investments held by banks and credit unions are not.

The improved R&W framework has been a big plus for GSE sellers...

There are two sides to the story. A year from now, the agency MBS market could reach the $6.0 trillion mark...

Home-equity originations declined by a modest 3.0 percent from the third to the fourth quarter...