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Quantitative easing and agency MBS investment and financing choices by mortgage REITs

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  • W. Scott Frame
  • Eva Steiner

Abstract

We study Agency Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (Agency MREITs)—shadow banks that invest in guaranteed U.S. Agency mortgage‐backed securities (MBS) and that are principally funded with repo debt—to test how quantitative easing (QE) affects financial risk taking. Agency MREIT asset growth is inversely related to the Federal Reserve's Agency mortgage‐backed securities (MBS) purchases, reflecting investor portfolio rebalancing. Agency MREITs increased leverage during QE, consistent with “reaching for yield.” They countered the heightened solvency risk by extending repo maturity and increased hedging of funding costs to reduce liquidity and interest rate risk. Research linking QE to increased credit risk taking should account for contemporaneous changes in financing choices and risk management.

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  • W. Scott Frame & Eva Steiner, 2022. "Quantitative easing and agency MBS investment and financing choices by mortgage REITs," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(4), pages 931-965, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reesec:v:50:y:2022:i:4:p:931-965
    DOI: 10.1111/1540-6229.12355
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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