Treasury to Begin Selling Its $142 Billion MBS Portfolio

``The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that it will begin the orderly wind down of its remaining portfolio of $142 billion in agency-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Starting this month, Treasury plans to sell up to $10 billion in agency-guaranteed MBS per month, subject to market conditions... The market for agency-guaranteed MBS has notably improved since the time Treasury purchased these securities in 2008 and 2009. Based on current market prices, Treasury expects to make a profit for taxpayers on this investment.'' -- We'll see how much selling the Treasury can do before interest rates on mortgages rise higher than they can tolerate.