WP 25-10 – This paper provides a review of the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, the ultimate source of financing for most housing purchases in the United States, and one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world.
We discuss the institutional environment, security design, MBS risks and asset pricing, and the economic effects of mortgage securitization. We also assemble descriptive statistics about market size, growth, security characteristics, prepayment, and trading activity. Throughout, we highlight insights from the expanding body of academic research on the MBS market and mortgage securitization.
