Cart

Inside The GSEs

August 12, 2009

View Archived Issues

Tough Future to Challenge Fannie, Freddie

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will face particularly harsh and unforgiving times in the months ahead as the GSEs struggle to cope with onerous Treasury debt repayment obligations, potentially excruciating accounting changes, and mounting costs associated with supporting the Obama administration’s homeowner rescue efforts. And the companies will have to contend with these challenges in the... Read More

FHFA Puts the Kibosh on FHLB Securitization

The Federal Housing Finance Agency likely put a halt for some time to come to talk about permitting the Federal Home Loan Banks to securitize mortgage loans, removing the Banks from the secondary market playing field as possible competitors to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, at least for the time being. In a recent report to Congress, the FHFA closed the door on such activity – at least until... Read More

Fannie, Freddie May be Wound Down, Moody’s Says

Just days after the Obama administration was trying to distance itself from news reports that it was contemplating a “good bank, bad bank” scenario with which to relieve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of their toxic loans, Moody’s Investors Service is projecting the two GSEs may well be wound down and replaced with an entity to support the residential housing market. “Moody’s believes that... Read More

Will Fannie, Freddie G-Fees Cover Their Costs?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a report earlier this month that found a substantial amount of guaranty fee cross-subsidization at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the companies struggled to stay competitive, calling into question whether the GSEs charge enough in such fees to actually cover their associated costs. The FHFA found that cross-subsidization in single-family... Read More

FHFA Throws GSEs a Soft Affordable Housing Bone

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released a final rule that has substantially scaled back the existing affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2009, after concluding that the targets were unrealistic. The new rule lowers the low- and moderate-income housing goal from 56 percent to 43 percent and drops the underserved areas housing goal to 32 percent, down from the... Read More

Accounting, Fair Value Help Blunt 2Q Woes for GSEs

Freddie Mac actually cranked out a little bit of net income, $768 million, for the second quarter, and if hadn’t been for the GSE’s $1.1 billion payout to the Treasury Department as compensation for its support thus far, the company might have reported almost $2 billion in income. Fannie Mae, meanwhile, could only report it had substantially cut its losses for the... [Includes one chart] Read More

Subprime, Nontrad Decline as Advance Collateral

Subprime and nontraditional mortgage products are finding less support among the Federal Home Loan Banks and their members, according to a report recently submitted to Congress by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.The study of FHLBank Advances and Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgages discusses the extent to which mortgage loans and securities used as collateral... Read More

FHLBank Debt Issuance Hovers Closer to Earth

After falling sharply in the first quarter of 2009, the issuance of discount notes by the Federal Home Loan Bank System declined further during the second quarter, with just $412.9 billion issued during the period, off 5.4 percent, according to the latest analysis by Inside The GSEs. The descent became evident in the second half of 2008, when total... [Includes one chart] Read More

Status Quo Prevails on FHLBank Capitalization Levels

It looks like the Federal Home Loan Banks will continue to operate under their existing regulatory capitalization framework for now, after the Federal Housing Finance Agency decided to back away from imposing a new, “well- capitalized” classification for the entities.The final regulation brings to completion an interim final rule published on Jan. 30, 2009, to define... Read More

News In Brief

Industry Pushes for Continued Federal Support of GSEs... Lockhart Departing FHFA With Mixed Reviews... FHLBank Combined Results Expected Later This Week.... Fed Reviewing Program to Buy GSE Debt and Mortgage Securities... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results