Freddie Mac’s $475 million net loss in the third quarter of 2015 – its first in four years – underscores the need to rebuild capital reserves at the two government-sponsored enterprises and to plan for their emergence from conservatorship, according to some mortgage groups and housing advocates. In a joint letter, the Community Home Lenders Association and the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, both of which represent small independent mortgage lenders, urged President Obama to support recommended revisions to a sweep agreement that prohibits the GSEs from rebuilding capital and to free them from conservatorship. Freddie’s third-quarter loss was...
American International Group this week cleared the air regarding a potential spinoff of its profitable mortgage insurance division, saying it likes the MI business very much and considers it a “core” asset. In other words, it’s not for sale. Then again, during AIG’s third-quarter earnings call, President and CEO Peter Hancock left open the door to a possible sale of United Guaranty, saying that “over time” the company likes to maintain its flexibility and that if the “right offer to monetize assets” came along, it would ponder a bid. “It gives...
The baseline $417,000 conforming loan limit is almost certain to remain unchanged in 2016, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of key house-price trends. The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently confirmed that it will use the seasonally-adjusted “expanded data” house-price index as the yardstick for determining whether increases should be made to the $417,000 baseline, which has been in place for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac business since 2006. As of the second quarter of 2015, the most recent data available, the HPI reading was...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $1.485 billion in net income for the third quarter of 2015, a hefty 83.1 percent decline from the previous period. While Fannie reported its 15th consecutive profitable quarter ($1.96 billion in net income), Freddie posted its first loss ($475 million) in four years. Don Layton, Freddie’s CEO, said that earnings volatility “stems from our usage of derivatives to hedge interest rate risks and accounting mismatches associated with the activity. This quarter showed a continuation of that volatility as the accounting mismatch produced a negative $1.5 billion [generally accepted accounting principles] earnings, which was enough to tip us into the comprehensive income loss of about $500 million for the quarter. “Utilizing a derivatives hedging strategy can result...
The latest tally from Inside The GSEs has Fannie and Freddie repaying all of their borrowings from the U.S. Treasury plus an additional $50.6 billion – money that has gone directly into the government’s coffers.
There has long been a concern in the market that if either GSE has a negative net worth, that investors will stop buying their MBS, which would cause the home buying process in America to crumble.
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