FirstMac on Friday finalised terms for the sale of mortgage-backed securities in which the Australian Office of Financial Management was the cornerstone investor.The RMBS issue was priced on Friday. The issue by FirstMac Mortgage Funding Trust Series 2-2008 comprised: $215 million, Class A-1, triple A rated notes with an weighted average life (WAL) of 0.7 years; $325 million, Class A-2, triple A rated notes with a WAL of 3.5 years; $39 million, Class AB, triple A rated notes with a WAL of five years; $15 million, Class B-1, double A rated notes with a WAL of 4.3 years; and $6 million, Class B-2, unrated notes with a WAL of 4.3 years.The definition of success appears to be that this deal was done. It would be unfair to say after the first transaction that AOFM has failed to achieve its objective of boosting investor demand for RMBS securities while at the same time restoring the economics of RMBS issuance. However, a total of $600 million was raised via the issue, of which $500 million came from AOFM. There was an expectation that other parties would invest up to $200 million in the transaction.     Moreover the Class A tranches priced at 125 bps, 150 bps and 180 bps over BBSW respectively, which gives a weighted average spread of almost 143bps. Just under a month ago, FirstMac privately placed $152 million of Class A RMBS at a spread of 160 bps over BBSW and a month earlier the last public issue of RMBS (Challenger Millennium Series 2008-1 Trust) saw $422 million of Class A RMBS price at a spread of 130 bps. Market conditions are arguably worse now than on those earlier occasions but with a spread of less than 100 bps being widely agreed as the target level at which RMBS issuance becomes economic again for most of the former originators, there is still a long way to go.In the meantime, AOFM has made a very good investment.