Even as the Federal Housing Finance Agency deliberates writedowns of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, the agency has agreed to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to participate in a California program that applies principal reduction in modifying distressed loans. The FHFA has confirmed Fannie and Freddie’s participation in the California Housing Finance Agency’s Keep Your Home California Program, a $2 billion foreclosure prevention effort established under the U.S. Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund. Earlier this month, state officials announced they are dropping the requirement from the...