Freddie Mac

Recently revived plans for broader use of the repositioned common-securitization platform for monetization purposes may hearken back to past concepts.

Federal officials directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to study whether digital assets held on US regulated exchanges might someday be factored into mortgage risk assessments.

This might deeply disappoint Wall Street investors who've been counting on a windfall if Fannie and Freddie are set free.

Hedge funds and other investors have called for the government to release the two entities from conservatorship, which could provide a windfall for shareholders.

While the 30-year rate landed near its level of a week ago, it ended up there only after political developments led to up-and-down swings in Treasurys.

Don Layton, former Freddie Mac CEO, and self-proclaimed "GSEologist" predicts that a release of the two entities will occur within four to six years.

The head of operations at the Federal Housing Finance Agency and two C-suite leaders at the government-sponsored enterprise are out, according to Semafor.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte is the new chair for both and he has removed several members while adding a few new names at each.

Valverde, who has a wide range of experience in capital markets and housing finance, will join the government-sponsored enterprise's single-family unit.

Recent rate movements have failed to result in significant purchase growth, but refinances are providing lenders some lift.

The pool, collectively, has a cap rate of 8.57%, with an in-trust loan-to-value (LTV) at the cutoff date of 102.3%, and an appraisal LTV of 61.5%.

But those in opposition are still giving the agency props for how it carried out the new product approval process for the first time.

The move allows Freddie Mac to start purchasing certain second lien mortgages, but establishes limits on how much volume it can do.

Markets appeared to welcome signs of future rate relief, with the latest Freddie Mac average falling for the fifth time in six weeks.

The 30-year average rate got closer to 7% as central bank officials dashed near-term hopes of a cut, according to Freddie Mac.

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

But the decline may be close to its floor, as wide spreads compared to 10-year Treasury yields hinder how far averages could fall.

Recent economic data pushed investors toward Treasurys over the past week, driving 10-year yields to as low as 4.1%.

The 30-year average declined for the fifth consecutive week, as purchase demand picking up at the same time, according to Freddie Mac.

With uncertain outlooks surrounding the economy and interests, investment managers looking for safer fixed-income investments are finding underpriced assets.