The single most pressing issue before the new regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is to ensure the GSEs have enough capital to survive a market that is increasingly trying to sink them, according to a number of analysts and observers. Investors drove Fannie and Freddie stock prices toward untenable levels early this week as speculation grew that the U.S. government will have to use its new...
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The Federal Home Loan Banks are among the few institutions in the mortgage market that are actually making money these days. System-wide, the FHLBank cooperatives announced a combined net income of $718 million, an increase of 2.9 percent from the $697 million earned during the first quarter, and up 14.3 percent compared with the same period the year before, according to the FHLBank Office...
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The Treasury Department took the first steps in preparing to come to the aid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as it asked Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley to assess the GSEs and their vulnerability last week. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said repeatedly that he does not expect to use the emergency backing powers granted by the omnibus housing act signed into law in late...
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Over the last four consecutive quarters, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have lost a whopping $14.2 billion between the two of them and their market capitalization has eroded. Yet, Fannie President and CEO Dan Mudd and Freddie Chairman and CEO Dick Syron continue at their respective helms, when better performances during this tough market have cost other CEOs their corporate heads...
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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has relented – to a degree – on its earlier decision to keep the so-called conforming jumbo mortgages out of the To-Be-Announced mortgage-backed securities market, in response to lobbying by some key industry players and a leading member of Congress. Last week, SIFMA announced a compromise posture on the issue, saying newly...
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California is the market of choice for the top seven lenders that provided mortgage loans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization programs, according to a detailed new analysis of data from the first half of 2008 by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated newsletter. The Golden State provided $98.84 billion in mortgages for Fannie and Freddie during that... [Includes one chart]
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All the GSE talk these days seems to be about poor earnings, plunging stock prices, negative outlooks, diminishing capital, federal bailouts, and nationalization versus privatization. But assuming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make it through the latest tempest, affordable housing is expected to assume a larger role than has been the case under the previous regulatory regime...
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Investors have been giving conflicting messages regarding their interest and evaluation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank debt. The latest mixed signal: This week, Freddie found more than enough investors for its $3 billion five-year Reference Note security. “The deal was... [Includes one chart]
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Bacino Urges FDIC Caution On FHLBank Advances: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was warned last week against implementing... Insurers Not Threatened By Big GSE Exposure: U.S. insurance companies have a collective $371 billion investment in securities... Fannie, Freddie Spent $3.57 Million To Lobby in First Quarter ‘08: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spent a combined $3.57...
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