There weren’t many bright spots in the agency market last year, but a handful of lenders saw sales climb in the fourth quarter.

Buybacks from the GSEs declined by 29.0% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter.

Total residential MBS holdings rose 6.3% to $384.87 billion and ABS holdings, while much smaller, were up 20.4%.

Guidance from on-high helped push lender buybacks of GSE loans sharply lower in the third quarter, particularly at Freddie. (Includes three data tables.)

Bank holding companies reported a big increase in agency MBS held in trading accounts during the third quarter. The industry also boosted its commercial MBS and ABS holdings. (Includes two data tables.)

Nonbanks regained market share among the top 100 mortgage producers in the third quarter despite a small decline in volume. First-lien lending at small banks and credit unions was up. (Includes two data tables.)

Total agency single-family MBS climbed 0.9% during the third quarter, hitting $8.913 trillion.

Ginnie continued to set the pace as its single-family servicing grew by 2.4% in the third quarter.

S. 3502, the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, received prompt support from a number of industry trade groups.

Ginnie remained the fastest growing player in the MBS market in the third quarter. Mutual funds, money-market funds and insurance companies continue to play important roles in demand for single-family MBS. (Includes two data tables.)