GSEs

PIMCO Mortgage Income Trust tabled plans to launch an initial public offering this week following a steep stock market decline Monday.

In his first public policy speech as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria stressed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have to raise significant capital via a public offering and take other steps in order to escape government control.

Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have revived legislation that would prohibit Congress from using certain fees collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated government spending.

Even though mortgage delinquencies increased on a quarter-to-quarter basis, strong overall metrics mitigate any concerns regarding future loan performance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

First-quarter operating revenue in Equifax's Mortgage Solutions unit was the lowest it's been for the fiscal period since 2016, and the company anticipates declines in this division will remain a concern.

While prepayment speeds on agency mortgage-backed securities rose in April, that increase should be short-lived as further significant interest drops are not expected, said a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has named three senior advisers for policy, economics and communications.

Lower rates hurt the value of Impac Mortgage Holdings' servicing rights and overall earnings in the first quarter, but they could help improve the company's second-quarter results.

Mortgage lending credit standards loosened a bit last month as investors displayed more interest in non-qualified mortgage and nonagency jumbo loans to stay competitive, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Investors can now exchange certain existing Freddie Mac bonds for to-be-announced uniform mortgage-backed securities in preparation for the full launch of UMBS next month.