Fixed-rate agency issuance increased last month but was down 24 percent for the year.
The issuance of fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities on behalf of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae climbed to $144.3 billion in December from $127.4 billion the previous month, according to data released by eMBS.com.
Fixed-rate agency issuance was also higher than December 2009’s $119.1 billion in securitizations.
Fannie’s issuances jumped to $74.4 billion in December from $64.1 billion, while Freddie’s volume climbed to $42.5 billion from November’s $36.6 billion. Over at government-owned Ginnie, fixed-rate issuances edged up to $27.3 billion from $26.6 billion.
During the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2010, total fixed-rate agency issuance amounted to $1.265 trillion, dropping nearly a quarter from $1.656 trillion the year before.
Fannie’s annual issuance of $562.1 billion was down 27 percent from 2009, Freddie’s volume fell 22 percent to $359.1 billion and Ginnie’s activity was off 20 percent to $343.3 billion.
