CME Group to Launch Mortgage Rate Futures in January 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group announced the launch of Mortgage Rate futures in January 2025, pending regulatory review. These cash-settled contracts will be based on the 30-Year Fixed Rate Conforming Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Index (OBMMI), tracking real-time rate lock data from over one-third of U.S. residential mortgage originations. The contracts will trade on CME Globex, be cleared by CME Clearing, and offer margin offsets against U.S. Treasury futures. The new product aims to provide market participants with a tool for managing risk across mortgage pipelines, servicing rights, and securities.

Positive

• Introduction of new financial product expanding CME's interest rate complex
• Integration with existing CME clearing infrastructure providing $20 billion in daily margin efficiencies
• Partnership with Optimal Blue covering 35% of mortgage locks market share

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Derivatives Expert

The launch of Mortgage Rate futures represents a significant innovation in the derivatives market. With $20 billion in daily margin efficiencies, this new product fills a important gap in mortgage risk management. The direct exposure to primary mortgage rates through the OBMMI, covering 35% of mortgage locks, provides unprecedented hedging precision for mortgage pipeline risk.

The integration with CME's existing suite of products, particularly the margin offsets against U.S. Treasury futures and cleared swaps, creates a comprehensive risk management ecosystem. This will likely attract significant institutional interest from mortgage originators, servicers and fixed-income traders seeking to optimize their portfolios and reduce margin requirements.

Market Structure Analyst

This product launch strategically positions CME Group to capture a new market segment in the $11 trillion U.S. residential mortgage market. The partnership with Optimal Blue adds credibility through their substantial market share in mortgage lock data. The IOSCO compliance design and real-time rate lock data integration demonstrate strong market infrastructure development.

The timing is particularly relevant given the current volatile interest rate environment and evolving fixed income markets. This could drive substantial new revenue streams for CME while providing market participants with more efficient tools for managing mortgage-related risks.

• First contracts based on an Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Index

CHICAGO, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced it will expand its interest rate complex with the addition of Mortgage Rate futures in January 2025, pending regulatory review.

"For the first time ever, market participants will have a precise and highly-efficient tool for managing risk across mortgage pipelines, servicing rights and securities," said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products. "As the fixed income market continues to evolve, our new Mortgage Rate futures will enable clients to trade the primary-secondary mortgage spread and gain unrivaled margin offsets with our U.S. Treasury futures, TBA futures and Eris SOFR swap futures."  

"Optimal Blue is the authority on primary market mortgage pricing, with roughly 35% of mortgage locks being processed through our capital markets platform," said Joe Tyrrell, CEO of Optimal Blue. "We are proud to contribute our Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Index to CME Group to give originators and owners of mortgage assets another tool to hedge risk. This aligns with Optimal Blue's mission to help lenders and market participants maximize profitability on every loan transaction."

Mortgage Rate futures are cash-settled contracts that provide direct exposure to the latest primary mortgage rate available to borrowers. The contracts are the first-ever to be based on the 30-Year Fixed Rate Conforming Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Index (OBMMI), which is designed for IOSCO compliance and tracks real-time rate lock data from more than one-third of U.S. residential mortgage originations.

Available to trade on CME Globex, Mortgage Rate futures will be listed with, and subject to, the rules of CBOT and cleared by CME Clearing. In addition to margin offsets against U.S. Treasury futures, soon after the launch date, the contracts will be eligible for Portfolio Margining with cleared swaps. CME Clearing currently provides more than $20 billion in daily margin efficiencies between interest rate futures, options, cleared swaps and cash securities.

For more information, please visit www.cmegroup.com/mortgage-futures.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

When will CME Group launch Mortgage Rate futures trading?

CME Group will launch Mortgage Rate futures in January 2025, subject to regulatory review.

What index will CME's new Mortgage Rate futures be based on?

The futures will be based on the 30-Year Fixed Rate Conforming Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Index (OBMMI).

How will CME's Mortgage Rate futures be settled?

The Mortgage Rate futures will be cash-settled contracts providing direct exposure to the latest primary mortgage rate available to borrowers.

What percentage of mortgage locks does the OBMMI index track?

The OBMMI tracks real-time rate lock data from more than one-third (approximately 35%) of U.S. residential mortgage originations.