Fannie and Freddie have upped their retained MBS holdings significantly in recent months, as have the Federal Home Loan Banks. Analysts expect money managers and insurance firms to remain key investors. (Includes two data tables.)

RiskSpan is piloting a platform that would provide the FHLBanks much more precise and timely views into the status and quality of the mortgage loans pledged against their advances.

Adoption of portable mortgages would be difficult under current practices in the secondary market. An official at Intercontinental Exchange believes that tokenization could address the issue.