The Federal Reserve reduced its holdings of agency MBS by $47 billion during the first quarter, but several other investor groups picked up the slack. Total MBS outstanding grew 0.4% during the first three months of the year.

The transition away from the London Inter-bank Offered Rate could prompt significant tax issues for MBS and ABS investors. The Structured Finance Industry Group wrote to the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury last week requesting guidance on the issue. LIBOR won’t be available after 2021 and market participants are looking for an alternative reference rate. Various securities are tied to the London benchmark rate in terms of the loans that back the deals and their ...