For nine straight months, agency issuance of mortgage-backed securities has moved lower — though there was an uptick at the Government National Mortgage Association. Securitization volume now stands at its lowest level in more than two-and-a-half years.
Combined issuance of fixed-rate MBS at the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and Ginnie Mae totaled $64.916 billion in January.
Volume was down from December, when agency issuance amounted to $73.770 billion. Securitizations have been lower each month since April 2013, when there was $148.976 billion in MBS issued.
Activity has fallen by more than half compared to January 2013, when aggregate issuance came in at $154.389 billion.
Last month’s total was the lowest since July 2011, when the trio of government-controlled companies issued a revised $63.305 billion.
The data was provided by eMBS.
Fannie Mae suffered the biggest setback, with fixed-rate issuance tumbling to $25.728 billion in January from $33.407 billion. A year earlier, issuance at the Washington, D.C.-based company was $80.329 billion.
Business slowed at McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac to $19.037 billion from $20.655 billion in December and was $39.813 billion in the same month last year.
The only one of the three firms to see an increase was Ginnie, where fixed-rate MBS issuance rose to $20.152 billion in January from $19.709 billion the previous month. Activity at the Washington, D.C.-based government-owned corporation was $34.247 billion in January 2013.
