Refinance Surge Pushes Agency MBS Issuance Higher in Third Quarter, ABS Holds Steady
October 5, 2012
Historically low mortgage interest rates generated a huge supply of refinance business during the third quarter of 2012 that drove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization volumes higher, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. A total of $437.7 billion of single-family MBS were issued during the third quarter, up 15.8 percent from the previous three-month period. It was the biggest production volume for the market since the fourth quarter of 2010, and it lifted year-to-date issuance for the first nine months of the year to $1.207 trillion a 43.2 percent increase over the same period in 2011. MBS issuance gained...[Includes one data chart]