It was the second quarter in a row that Freddie Mac was allowed to keep all of the money it earned as opposed to upstreaming retained capital in excess of $3.0 billion to the U.S. Treasury, the owner of its senior preferred shares.
The majority of expanded-credit MBS this year has been filled with Alt A loans that tend to have higher credit scores and are underwritten with alternative documentation.
“Despite the interest rate volatility during the quarter, our hedging strategy and portfolio performance resulted in a slight increase to our book value quarter over quarter,” said company CEO Michael Nierenberg. “In the third quarter 2019, origination volume tripled and servicing volume doubled relative to the same period last year.”
The temporary measure is expected to generate billions of dollars in VA funding fees between Jan. 1, 2022, and Oct. 1, 2027. It would offset new direct spending by $86 million over the five-year period.