For the first time since late 2019, purchase-mortgage endorsements exceeded new refinance loans in the FHA/VA market. And FHA narrowed the gap between the two programs. (Includes three data charts.)

The top three banks in MBS holdings: Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab...

Banks and thrifts increased their residential MBS holdings by $77 billion during the third quarter of 2021, continuing to favor Fannie/Freddie pass-through securities. (Includes two data charts.)

The conventional-conforming market, which is dominated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, accounted for 70.9% of first-lien originations through the first nine months of 2021.

There is still plenty of business to be done in the agency market, but jumbo and ECM lending were the sectors that saw growth from the second to the third quarter. (Includes two data charts.)

Still, all three channels saw declines in refinance loans and rising purchase-money mortgage sales.

The rule has since been suspended. However, recent MBS issuance shows a continuing impact on market behavior.

Production was down in both non-agency CMBS and agency multifamily MBS...

The industry wasn’t exactly partying like it was 2020, but last year was a hard act to follow.

Freddie has seen a big shift in how lenders sell loans, with the share of cash sales dropping sharply in 2021 while swaps have gained favor. The same thing happened at Fannie, though not as dramatically. (Includes two data charts.)