Economic Policy Review
TBA Trading and Liquidity in the Agency MBS Market
Volume 19, Number 1, May
JEL classification: G12, G19, G21

Authors: James Vickery and Joshua Wright

Mortgage-backed securities in the United States are generally traded on a “to-be-announced,” or TBA, basis. The key feature of a TBA trade is that the identity of the securities to be delivered to the buyer is not specified exactly at the time of the trade, facilitating a liquid forward market. This article describes the main features of the TBA market. It also presents evidence on the liquidity of this market during the financial crisis period. Using variation in TBA eligibility rules, the authors’ estimates suggest that the liquidity benefits associated with the TBA market are of the order of 10 to 25 basis points during 2009 and 2010, and magnified during periods of market stress. The estimates further suggest that the presence of a government credit guarantee alone does not appear to be sufficient explanation for the liquidity of agency MBS.

HTML executive summary
Available only in PDF PDF 18 pages / 458 kb
Press release
tools
Related New York Fed Content
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Statement. You can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our Privacy Statement.   Close