Higher Rates, Smarter Models, and Fresher Credit Insights: August Models & Markets Recap
Register here for next month’s call: Thursday, September 18th, 2025, 1 p.m. ET.
Each month, we host a Models & Markets call to offer our insights into recent model performance, emerging credit risks, and broader economic indicators. This month’s call was a wide-ranging update on new model developments, consumer credit insights, and macroeconomic trends shaping structured finance.
Here’s a quick recap in case you missed it.
(Click here to listen to the entire 30-minute recording or continue reading for a summary.)
Market Outlook: August 2025
Stable employment and inflation notwithstanding, the macro backdrop remains dominated by persistent headwinds:
- Mortgage Rates: Still above 6.5% and expected to stay above 6% for the next several years.

- Home Prices: Case-Shiller data shows relative stability, with modest month-over-month declines and low year-over-year growth.
- Labor & Inflation: Both unemployment and PCE inflation are holding steady.
- Fed Policy: The Fed Funds Rate remains in the 4.25%–4.50% range, with the first cut expected in September 2025. Markets anticipate a year-end rate of 3.75%–4.00%, but long-term rates remain elevated.
- 10Yr rates unlikely to see a significant decline over next few years, leading to a high mortgage rate environment (>~ 6%) for next 3-5 years.
New Equifax Data Integration
We introduced our latest research leveraging the Equifax Analytic Dataset (ADS), a borrower-level anonymized sample representing 10% of the U.S. active credit population. Using tradeline-level detail (credit scores, balances, payments, etc.), we have constructed aging curves for auto loans and personal loans segmented by credit score bands.
Some key takeaways:
- Auto Loan Defaults: Clear segmentation appears across credit score bands, with default curves validated against Federal Reserve data.

- Personal Loan Defaults: Similar segmentation trends, with early results indicating significant variation across risk tiers.

- Credit card and student loan performance curves: Coming soon.
The final versions of these datasets will be accessible directly within the RiskSpan platform, allowing clients to benchmark their portfolios against robust national trends.
Model Updates
Prepayment Models (Versions 3.2 & 3.7)
Our prepayment models continue to perform strongly against observed market behavior. The latest back-testing of agency cohorts (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 2021/2022 vintages across 1.5%–6.5% coupons) shows that speeds remain broadly consistent with expectations. However, higher coupon pools have recently exhibited slower-than-expected speeds, reflecting both tighter refinancing conditions and borrower credit constraints.
1.5 to 3.5 Coupons

6.5 Coupons

Credit Model 7.0
Our much-anticipated Credit Model v7 is now available in production on the RiskSpan Platform. Key features include:
- Delinquency Transition Matrix – A granular 3-D framework tracking monthly movement of loans through delinquency buckets (30D, 60D, 90D, 120D, 150D, 180D+, Foreclosure, REO).
- Severity & Liquidation Enhancements – Expanded severity vectors and a liquidation timeline module allow for more nuanced control of loss projections.
- Integration with MSR Engine – Provides detailed P&I and T&I cash flow accounting that captures probabilistic delinquency transitions.
These enhancements equip investors and risk managers with deeper tools for analyzing loss dynamics across mortgage, GSE, FHA, and VA loan cohorts.


Contact us to learn more.