Mortgage Pool Factor

The percentage of the original principle that is left to be distributed in a mortgage-backed security, as represented by a numerical factor that will be attached on periodic market quotes (such as in Bloomberg) and other presentations of the MBS’s price. For example, if the face amount of a pooled MBS is $100,000, and the stated pool factor is 0.4587, the remaining balance in the security, yet to be paid to the investor, would be $45,870. The pool factor is only used to describe a specific class of security, which can be issued by Freddie Mac (FHLMC), Fannie Mae (FNMA), and Ginnie Mae (GNMA). A pooled MBS is one whose component mortgage payments, instead of being re-bundled or collated, are simply passed through to the investors, month to month, until the mortgage pool has been completely paid off.