Secondary markets

Executives speak on the uncertainty created by the Russia-Ukraine war and Federal Reserve announcements.

The portfolio is one of several particularly large, recent deals related to the cash-flows from mortgage payments, but it has an unusual composition.

"The quality of our new business is high. The pricing of that business does not reflect the capital requirements of our regulatory rule," CEO Hugh Frater said.

However, leadership noted that 2021 was the second record year for new single-family mortgages and also discussed how the government sponsored-enterprise plans to further rebuild its capital.

In addition to hinting at a March rate hike, the central bank this week announced an intention to have Treasury securities make up a greater share of its holdings, which has implications for securitized home loans.

The change aims to streamline the processing of certain pandemic-related loan options that accommodate lower monthly payment amounts for borrowers with long-term economic hardships.

The researchers found that the disparities that emerged from the analysis of 1.8 million appraisals from 2019 and 2020 were statistically significant.

In a Senate confirmation hearing, the acting Federal Housing Finance Agency director echoed her predecessor’s view that restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should fall to Congress, and pointed to measures aimed at mitigating risk for the agencies.

The Duty-to-Serve goals currently under review drew some objections from a coalition of affordable housing groups last year.

Mortgage performance in November was improving, coming close to crossing a key threshold for pandemic-era recovery, but Omicron raises questions about whether that trend will continue.