Fed Buys Another $16Bn of Agency MBS

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought another $16bn of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the week ending November 18. The Fed’s gross weekly purchases totaled $17.2bn. The Fed bought $5.9bn from Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.14 -1.72%), $4.55bn from Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.02 -0.97%) and $6.77bn from Ginnie Mae. The Fed also sold $1.23bn of agency MBS — $800m of Fannie and $425m of Ginnie MBS — the same week, bringing net purchases to $16bn. The weekly purchases push the Fed’s... more»

ABCP Outstandings Slip 35% in 2009

Total US asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) outstandings were at $455bn as of November 4, a 35% decline from the beginning of 2009, according to market commentary by Fitch Ratings. The fall in ABCP outstandings comes at a time when the industry is anticipating financial accountancy changes in January and the effect of global risk management regulations that will change the way financial markets operate. In their weekly outlook report, ABCP traders at Credit Suisse report that “investors have plenty of cash to invest, but with customer pay downs and... more»