Effective March 23, 2020, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) directed the Open Market Trading Desk (the Desk) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to purchase agency commercial MBS (CMBS) on behalf of the System Open Market Account (SOMA). The Desk will purchase in the open market agency CMBS secured primarily by multifamily home mortgages that are guaranteed fully as to principal and interest by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae and that the Desk has determined are suitable for purchase.
On March 24, 2020, the New York Fed retained BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory as a third-party vendor to operationalize these purchases and transact with approved counterparties on behalf of the SOMA. BlackRock was selected on a short-term basis to serve as an investment manager after considering their expertise in trading and analyzing agency CMBS in the secondary market, and robust operational and technological capabilities.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Program Terms and Conditions
- Approved Counterparties
- Investment Management Agreement for BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory
