Fitch rode the market’s hottest sectors in the first quarter: vehicle-backed ABS and expanded-credit MBS. S&P slipped to second in ABS ratings and fourth in residential MBS. (Includes two data charts.)

Some 66.5% of GSE repurchases in the first quarter involved loans securitized in 2022.

As originations decline, the securitization rate shrinks.

JPMorgan led the pack with $75.3 billion of agency MBS held in its trading account at March 31...

The 2022 book of GSE single-family business has a higher defect rate than earlier cohorts, and sellers are repurchasing loans with interest rates lower than current levels. (Includes three data charts.)

The nonbank share of mortgage originations is moving closer to where it was during the pandemic refi boom.

Ginnie Mae MBS issuance finally caught up to sharp declines in primary-market originations, while ECM securitization was buoyed by more-seasoned loans.

The biggest gain was in agency single-family MBS, as several large bank holding companies boosted their trading portfolios by $1 billion or more during the first quarter.

The top five lenders in the first quarter — four nonbanks and a large regional bank — reported a combined 7.7% decline in mortgage production from the previous period. That was roughly half the rate of decline in the overall market. (Includes two data charts.)

Money-market funds and other investors helped to fill some of the void in the MBS market as the Fed and banks reduced their holdings in the first quarter.