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Improvising Housing Policies |
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Written by Bill Berliner
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Wednesday, 04 January 2012 07:29 |
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Originally published in the January 2012 issue of Asset Securitization Report (www.sourcemedia.com) The passage of the payroll tax holiday extension in December was, in my mind, a watershed moment for the mortgage and MBS markets. For the first time, Congress instituted a tax on mortgage transactions, to be collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In this light, the operative question for regulators and policy makers is simple: “What are we trying to accomplish?” |
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Optimizing Fed MBS Purchases |
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Written by Bill Berliner
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Sunday, 04 December 2011 15:20 |
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Originally published in the December issue of Asset Securitization Report (www.sourcemedia.com) Bloomberg recently reported that a number of dealers expect the Fed to initiate a new round of MBS purchases, with the goal of pushing mortgage rates lower and giving a boost to the still-sickly housing market. The idea of more MBS purchases raises a host of critical issues, particularly with respect to an exit strategy. (An investor who holds more than $1 trillion of an asset class effectively becomes the market.) Nonetheless, I believe that a well-conceived program can positively impact mortgage rates and housing. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 04 December 2011 17:57 |
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The Hidden Threat to the Mortgage Market |
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Written by Bill Berliner
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Monday, 31 October 2011 08:24 |
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Key elements of recent policy initiatives, such as the revised HARP program and the Fed’s “Twist,” have focused on either pushing down fixed mortgage rates or taking advantage of their current low levels. In addition to the Fed’s actions, many observers have placed a devotional faith in the Fed’s ability, as Lawrence Summers wrote in a recent op-ed piece in the Washington Post, to “…support demand and the housing market by again expanding purchases of mortgage-backed securities.” However, an underappreciated threat to the mortgage and housing markets is the reliance of many American borrowers on low Libor rates. This means that the Fed and other policymakers must be aware of the vulnerability of the U.S. housing markets to rate spikes resulting from upheavals in the European financial system. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 31 October 2011 08:26 |
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About FixedIncomeColor.com |
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Written by Bill Berliner
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Monday, 09 March 2009 12:38 |
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FixedIncomeColor.com® is an on-line community designed to facilitate interaction between participants in the fixed-income markets. Sponsored and administered by Bill Berliner of Berliner Consulting & Research, the site contains information, data, commentary and research on a variety of fixed-income investment products. Before getting started, please visit the"About Us" page for more information and the basic rules of the site. Also, please be sure to visit the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy sections. Membership is free. And if you've forgotten your username or password, it's easy to reset them; just follow the directions in the User Login section on the left side of the Home page. We want your ideas and feedback. Please click “Contact us” to message the Administrator.
Thanks…BB |
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Last Updated on Friday, 08 January 2010 12:49 |
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Wiley Releases Second Edition of Mortgage-Backed Securities Text |
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Written by Bill Berliner
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Sunday, 02 October 2011 10:15 |
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The second edition of Mortgage-Backed Securities: Products, Structuring, and Analytical Techniques was recently released by John Wiley & Sons. The book, coauthored by Frank Fabozzi, Anand Bhattacharya, and William Berliner, addresses a variety of topics important to the understanding of mortgages and MBS, particularly in light of the financial crisis that began in 2007. “The new edition of the book addresses many of the major changes that have taken place in the MBS and financial markets since the first edition was published,” said Berliner. “In particular, the way prepayment and credit behavior is understood and measured has been overturned by recent events. We also wanted to enhance the sections on how relative value is measured and compared, which led us to write a completely new chapter on evaluating Non-Agency MBS." The first edition of the book, published in 2007, was named one of the top ten finance books for that year by RiskBooks. The book is available at bookstores, through Wiley’s web site, www.wiley.com, and on Amazon.com. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 02 October 2011 10:41 |
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