Rising mortgage rates are forcing big banks to write down losses on their mortgage-backed securities (MBS) amid the Federal Reserve’s tightening interest rate policy and regulations.
An MBS is an investment product that bundles home loans and other real estate debts, which then are bought from the banks that issued them. Wall Street’s big four banks—JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup—have been forced to acknowledge $17 billion in unrealized losses by writing down the value of MBS on their balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg report that analyzed company filings.
The unrealized losses do not appear on income statements of these firms. But the presence of such unrealized losses on balance sheets affects the accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) reported in the equity section. Changes in AOCI can impact the equity of shareholders….