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MBS Purchases by Fed Total $115B

The ""Federal Reserve Bank of New York"":http://www.newyorkfed.org purchased $23.2 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for the week ending ""February 11th"":http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/mbs/index.html. That tally brings total MBS purchases since the government program began in early January to $114.96 billion.
Last week, the Fed bought $14.66 billion in mortgage securities from Freddie Mac, $7.16 billion from Fannie Mae, and $1.40 billion from Ginnie Mae. Except for $200 million of MBS from Freddie Mac which will mature in 15 years, the remaining $23 billion securities have a maturity of 30 years.
All-in-all, the central bank intends to buy up a total of $500 billion MBS from government-sponsored agencies. The MBS purchases are expected to bring much needed assistance to the housing industry by helping to drive mortgage rates even lower.
In late January, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told congressional leaders that the agency may also soon begin modifying the loans it holds in these securities ""to help avoid preventable foreclosures on residential properties"" and to ""maximize the net present value of the assets for the benefit of taxpayers.""

About Author: Gerry Smith

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