The Treasury Department announced Monday that it will begin selling $142 billion in agency-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities it purchased in 2008 and 2009.
The Treasury plans to start winding down the MBS this month and selling up to $10 billion in MBS per month. The Treasury said the time has come to sell its holdings because the agency-guaranteed MBS market has notably improved.
"We're continuing to wind down the emergency programs that were put in place in 2008 and 2009 to help restore market stability, and the sale of these securities is consistent with that effort," Mary Miller, the Treasury assistant secretary for financial markets, said in a release. "We will exit this investment at a gradual and orderly pace to maximize the recovery of taxpayer dollars and help protect the process of repair of the housing finance market."
The Treasury retained State Street Global Advisors in 2008 to acquire, manage and dispose of the MBS portfolio. The firm will wind down this investment, and the Treasury will post on its website each month the total MBS sales it has made.
