[]In late 2012 the market for agency mortgage-backed securities remained a pillar of U.S. housing finance. This update reviews Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issuance on and around December 2, 2012, and highlights how lenders continued to feed the securitization pipeline despite lingering economic uncertainties.
### Key findings
– **Fannie Mae** led agency issuance volumes with strong demand for its standard mortgage-backed securities.
– **Freddie Mac** maintained a solid share of the market, with lenders delivering steady pools of conventional loans.
– **Ginnie Mae** saw continued momentum from FHA and VA lending, reflecting strength in government-insured programs.
– **Top lenders** included Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, which together accounted for a large share of agency pools. Regional and nonbank lenders like U.S. Bank, Quicken Loans and PennyMac also increased their deliveries.
### Market drivers
– **Low rates and refinance boom** kept agency pipelines full as borrowers took advantage of historically low mortgage rates to refinance into conventional and government loans.
– **HARP and HAMP programs** helped underwater borrowers and those with credit challenges refinance, supporting Freddie and Fannie issuance volumes.
– **Investor appetite** for agency MBS remained strong thanks to implicit government backing and attractive yields compared to Treasuries.
– **Credit quality** improvements and tighter underwriting standards reduced default risk and made agency pools more attractive to bond buyers.
### Related resources
– [Mortgage Lender Ranking](/mortgagelenderranking)
– [Fundings](/fundings)
– [Industry Change 062413](/industrychange062413)
– [Mortgage Employment Index](/mortgageemploymentindex)
– [Fraud Index](/fraudindex)
– [Mortgage Graveyard](/mortgage-graveyard)
– [Subprime Mortgage Crisis Analysis 2007](/subprimemortgagecrisisanalysis2007)
