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Inside The GSEs

November 18, 2009

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Credit, Not Writedowns, Driving GSE Losses

In the year since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been put into conservatorship and commandeered to implement the bulk of the Obama administration’s homeowner rescue plan, the driver of their continued big losses has changed dramatically. Where once the GSE rivals had been pounded by fair value writedowns from the rough and tumble dynamics of the marketplace... [Includes one chart] Read More

Shrinking FHLBs See Capital Ratios Improve

In a fickle regulatory outcome, the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks find themselves in a better capital position after they lost a combined $165 million during the third quarter than they were when they earned $1.1 billion in the second quarter. “One of the peculiar things is that all of the FHLBanks have shrunk because demand for advances has declined and because of government... Read More

GSEs Might Have to Write Down $8.6 B Tax Credits

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sitting on approximately $8.6 billion of low-income housing tax credits they can’t use as long as they’re losing money – and apparently can’t sell, either – and both companies are considering whether to write them down. The issue is a bit more dramatic for Fannie, which has a larger amount of tax credits, $5.2 billion worth, and a willing buyer... Read More

Rep. Issa Slams White House, FHFA Over I.G. Vacancy

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has been officially up and running for 15 months without an Inspector General. And even though the Bush administration nominated a candidate in its closing days and the Federal Housing Finance Board already had its own IG who could have been moved into the breach, the Obama White House has yet to name someone for the position. That’s not sitting well... Read More

Fannie Launches ‘Deed For Lease’ With No Input

Fannie Mae has launched another new program without going through any of the formal announcement and public input requirements instituted when its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, released an updated process for approving new products and programs from the GSEs earlier this year. This time around, it’s the “Deed for Lease Program,” under which qualifying homeowners facing... Read More

GAO Gives FHFA Passing Grade, With an Asterisk

The Federal Housing Finance Agency presented its fiscal year 2009 financial statements fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, maintained effective internal controls, and had “no reportable noncompliance” with applicable laws and regulations, the Government Accountability Office said in a report this week. However, it wasn’t a perfect bill of health. “We identified... Read More

FHLBank Advance Business Drops 27 Percent

Deposits and other forms of liquidity are returning to the marketplace for the member banks of the Federal Home Loan Banks. But that’s a bit of a slam to the Banks themselves, which have found their advance business off by 27 percent, and with advances being a primary driver of earnings for the FHLBanks, the drop off helped produce combined losses of $165 million for... [Includes one chart] Read More

Is FASB Shaping the Fate of Fannie, Freddie?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing some new accounting changes that could bring trillions of dollars onto their balance sheets – a phenomenon that could overwhelm the GSEs’ capital requirements if they hadn’t already been suspended due to conservatorship. And that could put some rather formidable limitations on the options federal policymakers have at their disposal when envisioning... Read More

News In Brief

Non-Agency MBS Keeps FHLB Seattle Undercapitalized: The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently reaffirmed the status... Full Recovery From Lehman Would Save Uncle Sam $15 Billion: If Fannie Mae would be able to fully recover the $15.8 billion... FHFA Tapped for Obama Financial Fraud Task Force: The Federal Housing Finance Agency is one of the federal regulatory... Read More

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