As fast as it rose, total issuance of mortgage-backed securities by the nation’s housing finance agencies slid 30 percent last month. But activity at one agency, the Government National Mortgage Association, was respectably higher.
Issuers of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MBS securitized $104.187 billion in fixed-rate mortgages during April.
Issuances amounted to $148.232 billion a month earlier, when volume leapt from February MBS securitizations of $111.269 billion.
eMBS, which reports the data, said fixed-rate agency issuance was $67.977 billion in April 2011.
From Jan. 1 through April 30, issuances at the three government-controlled companies collectively climbed to $472.228 billion.
Fueling the month-over-month decline was Fannie, where volume sank to $43.983 billion from the prior month’s $83.941 billion. Issuances at the Washington, D.C.-based company were $28.663 billion in the same month last year and totaled $232.362 billion for the four months ended April 30.
Freddie similarly saw its fixed-rate business decline — to $27.691 billion from March’s $38.491 billion. But the McLean, Va.-based firm’s activity was stronger than $19.712 billion in April 2011, as was the case for its secondary rival Fannie. Freddie’s year-to-date issuances totaled $130.821 billion.
Last, but by no means least, was government-owned Ginnie, which pushed issuances up to $32.513 billion in April from $25.801 billion. Volume has not been this high at the Washington, D.C.-based corporation since January 2010, when issuances were $34.379 billion.
The year-earlier total at Ginnie was $19.603 billion, and the year-to-date total was $109.046 billion.
