FHFA officially launches the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security

Federal Issues FHFA Securities Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security Mortgages

On June 3, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) officially launched the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security (UMBS), a common security through which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities will be issued. FHFA Deputy Director Robert Fishman noted that the new UMBS will bring “additional liquidity and efficiency to the market.” Moreover, “[b]y addressing structural issues and trading disparities, the UMBS will benefit taxpayers and the nation's housing finance system.”​ As previously covered by InfoBytes, in March 2018, FHFA announced the UMBS, stating that it would replace all current offerings of mortgage-backed securities that occur in the to-be-announced (TBA) forward market. The FHFA also indicated that the UMBS would be issued using the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) through the Enterprises’ joint venture, Common Securitization Solutions (CSS).