John Bancroft

JPMorgan Chase, the system’s biggest member, reduced its FHLBank advances by 20.3% over the past year.

S&P remained the top provider of ABS ratings at the nine-month mark despite a 24% drop in the third quarter, while Fitch held its lead rating residential MBS. (Includes two data tables.)

Most REITs reported substantial increases in their agency MBS holdings during the third quarter, although a few firms pulled back. Non-agency MBS were up slightly; MSR declined.

Much of the decline was the result of a change in how Freddie Mac classifies loans subject to a repurchase claim for which the seller has provided a remedy.

A group of 16 mortgage REITs held $196.29 billion of residential MBS on their books at the end of September.

Depository institutions added some $68.55 billion of single-family MBS to their holdings during the third quarter.

Bank holding company trading accounts saw a 3.9% increase in total residential MBS holdings in the third quarter.

The big gains came in high-LTV refinances, which surged to 13.6% of the sample, a 7.05 percentage point increase.

New issuance was up in all the major food groups last year: residential MBS, commercial MBS and ABS. But overall quarterly volume slipped late in 2024.

Deliveries of rate-term refinances into agency MBS declined by almost 40% on a monthly basis in December.