Banks, thrifts and credit unions ended the year with $3.551 trillion of unsecuritized home loans on their books, a gain of 0.8% from the third quarter.

NAR's settlement essentially eliminates the requirement for home sellers to pay a fee to the homebuyer's real estate agent.

Commercial banks posted a surprising increase in MBS holdings during the fourth quarter, while foreign investors, money managers, life insurers and credit unions also grew their portfolios. (Includes three data tables.)

The biggest growth in the mortgage market during the fourth quarter was in home equity loans. Ginnie Mae continued as drum major in the MBS market. (Includes three data tables.)

Earnings from mortgage banking declined by 60.2% among 14 publicly traded nonbanks in the fourth quarter.

Nonbanks saw a sharp decline in mortgage banking income in the fourth quarter, ending a challenging year with earnings down 38.5% from 2022.

Jumbo mortgages accounted for 14.7% of total first-lien originations in 2023, the lowest share for the sector since 2010.

The flow of refinance mortgages into agency MBS rose smartly from January to February. And year-to-date total issuance was up slightly from early 2023.

Production of agency high-balance loans held up slightly better than the downturn in non-agency jumbo originations, but both sectors recorded big quarterly declines.

Must of the increase in bank ABS holdings seen during the fourth quarter of 2023 was due to a portfolio securitization at BMO Harris Bank.