Agency Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities: Program Terms and Conditions

Effective March 26, 2020
Purchases

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.

Eligible Assets
The Desk will purchase agency CMBS that meet each of the following criteria at the time of purchase:

  • Issued by an eligible issuer
  • Fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by eligible issuer
Ineligible Assets
  • Re-securitization of real estate mortgage investment conduits (Re-REMICS)
  • Interest-only certificates
  • Principal-only certificates
  • Residual certificates
Eligible Issuers

Eligible issuers for purchases of agency CMBS are the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).

Investment Manager

BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.

Custodian

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Purchase Mechanism

Purchases will be conducted through a competitive process in which primary dealers submit offers on specific securities for sale to the Desk via the Investment Manager. Offers will be evaluated for reasonable pricing and acceptance will be based on the most competitive offers.

Purchase Schedule

It is anticipated that operations will initially be held two to three times per week, subject to market conditions. The schedule for, size, and composition of, purchases will be adjusted as appropriate to support smooth market functioning of agency CMBS markets.

Minimum Lot Size

The minimum lot size per CUSIP will be indicated in each operation announcement.

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