MBS Down Says Freddie Feb Report

Freddie Mac issued $29.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities in February, down 18.5% from the previous month and 27% from a year ago. The secondary market agency also reported that its holdings of Freddie guaranteed MBS has declined by nearly $14 billion during the first two months of this year to $360.9 billion. Freddie said it purchased $22.6 billion in refinanced single-family mortgages in February, which matched its January purchases. The GSE regulator reported recently that Freddie refinanced 14,750 loans in January through the Home Affordable Refinancing Program, which involves mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 80%. The Federal Housing Finance Agency report shows Freddie completed HARP refinancings on 717 loans with LTVs between 105% and 125%, compared to 590 in December.