Credit unions have found a way to unload low-coupon agency-quality mortgages through participation deals. MIAC is working on a $100 million transaction.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is working to establish a process that would allow the regulator to alter the ratings assigned to certain MBS and ABS held by insurance companies.
An appeals court in Minnesota upheld a practice in the commercial MBS market allowing for the creation of litigation reserve accounts. Junior investors in a 2007 issuance from Wachovia challenged the practice.
Fitch Ratings warned that MBS and ABS could face credit implications following cyberattacks involving the parties in structured finance transactions even when the events don’t directly lead to payment defaults.
What goes down must go up again? That seems to be the story of the fourth quarter’s revival in agency MBS values. Declining mortgage rates gave agency securities holders a shot in the arm.
The Fed launched the Bank Term Funding Program amid the regional bank crisis in 2023 to help avoid fire sales of MBS and other assets. The program is set to end in March as scheduled.