Fed MBS purchases likely added to housing affordability problems, Miran says

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Past Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage-backed securities likely worsened the housing affordability problems faced by current families by injecting so much credit into the housing market, Fed Governor Stephen Miran said on Monday.

"The Fed owns a lot of mortgages," Miran said of the now just over $2 trillion in MBS currently held by the Fed and accumulated through earlier rounds of quantitative easing meant to hold down long-term interest rates, including those for home mortgages, Miran said. "Us owning a lot of mortgages injected a lot of credit into the housing market. There's no question there's a relationship between choices the Federal Reserve has made and some of the affordability issues that are facing Americans."