Freddie Mac (FMCC)

[stockprofitter]

Final GSE MBS Tally for 4Q16: Just Shy of $300 Billion; Best Quarter Since 2Q13

By John Bancroft

[e-mail]

Mortgage lenders delivered a hefty $299.25 billion of single-family home loans into the mortgage-backed securities platforms at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking.

Production in the final three months of 2016 was up just 5.7 percent from the third quarter at the two government-sponsored enterprises. But it was the biggest output since the second quarter of 2013, when the mortgage market was wrapping up a 12-month binge of activity with $337.74 billion in Fannie/Freddie MBS issuance.

The strong finish – GSE business was up in each quarter of 2016 – put total production at $973.72 billion, an 18.1 percent increase from the previous year. That also marked three consecutive annual gains, while still falling short of 2012 and 2013, when volume topped $1 trillion.

In terms of volume, Fannie had a better year than Freddie. For full details and exclusive tables, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance.

$FMCC