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Inside The GSEs

March 17, 2010

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Key GSE Programs Remain Up in the Air

This week, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CT, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued another iteration of his financial services oversight reform legislation, but unlike its predecessor, the new version dumps a regulatory carve-out that would have exempted from its controversial risk-retention provisions securities or assets insured or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and... Read More

FHLBank Debt Issuance Slowed in 2009

With declining lender demand for advances to fund new originations, the Federal Home Loan Bank System saw a dramatic decline in new debt issuance last year mostly through a reduction in discount-note activity. The FHLBanks issued a total of $1.993 trillion in debt last year, down 39.4 percent from 2008’s record volume of $3.287 trillion. Even with the sharp downturn... [Includes one chart] Read More

GSEs Still Have Lion’s Share of Loan Mod Action

The latest data from the Obama administration regarding the performance of its Home Affordable Modification Program show a continuing steady increase in the overall number of trial and permanent loan modifications being made, with the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac business remaining fairly constant at 57 percent over the last three... [Includes one chart] Read More

Mods = Higher Fair Value Losses, Credit Expenses

There’s no question that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are vital to what limited success the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program has seen to date, but it’s coming at a considerable cost to the companies’ bottom lines. During 2009, we completed 200,339 loan workouts and initiated 333,300 trial modifications on Fannie Mae loans under the... Read More

Fannie, Freddie Exempt from FOIA, FHFA Argues

Judicial Watch, a conservative self-styled government watchdog, has filed another Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency after the GSEs’ regulator told a U.S. District Court that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not covered under FOIA because they remain private entities, even though they have been under federal conservatorship for the last 18 months.. Read More

GSE Portfolios Take Smaller Share of Market

The retained mortgage portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taking up less space in the overall mortgage market, but the prominence of the GSEs’ mortgage-securities programs continued to expand in 2009, according to a new Inside the GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie had a combined $1.528 trillion in their retained mortgage portfolios as of the end of 2009... [Includes one chart] Read More

Fannie Previews 2010 Executive Comp Changes

Fannie Mae, perhaps backing away from some of the heat generated by the controversial pay packages it provided its top executives for 2009, has decided to make some changes, scaling some benefits back and upgrading the requirements for others. First among the changes Fannie is making is deferred compensation. “Deferred pay for 2010 will be 50 percent service-based and... Read More

GSEs to Move $1.2T in Swaps to Clearinghouses

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reportedly planning to move most of their combined $1.2 trillion interest rate swap portfolio to central clearing, even though no such legal requirement currently exists, according to a representative of Moody’s Investors Service. And that would be a good thing for Fannie and Freddie, the Moody’s rep said, because it will reduce their counterparty risk... Read More

News In Brief

FHLBs Win Delay in Diversity Regulation Timetable: The Federal Home Loan Banks have sought, and obtained, an extension of the comment period for a... New COO William Rachal Takes Over at FHLB Office of Finance: William Rachal, a former official with Sallie Mae, has assumed the position of chief operating officer... Read More

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