Fannie Mae next week will open a new mortgage-securities program that will be backed by refinance mortgages with loan-to-value ratios as high as 125 percent in an effort to generate more activity in an Obama administration program designed to help performing underwater borrowers. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced in July that they would expand their Home Affordable...In other former-GSE news:
Freddie Mac's Delinquent Loans Rise for 28th Month
Freddie Mac's mortgage delinquency rate for its single family mortgages rose for the 28th straight month in August, reaching a record 3.13 percent of its portfolio 1.11 percent in August 2008.
Freddie's sister company, Fannie Mae, reported a similar increase in delinquent mortgages in June. Its serious delinquency rate for conventional single family loans rose 26 basis points in June to 3.94 percent, higher than Freddie Mac's in August. Fannie Mae has not yet reported July and August delinquencies.
The steadily increasing value of delinquent loans owned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is another sign of the toll the housing crisis is taking on the economy. The rising number of foreclosures and homeowners missing payments on loans held by the mortgage giants increasingly puts pressure their financial reserves and overall financial condition.
Freddie Mac also reported today that its mortgage investment portfolio shrank by an annualized 29.5 percent rate in August. The portfolio fell to $779.4 billion, for an annualized 4.7 percent drop year to date. The size of the mortgage portfolio, however, increased on a year-over-year basis. In August 2008, the portfolio was $760.9 billion. Last month Freddie Mac surprised observers by reporting a profit in the second quarter and indicated that it may not need additional federal TARP aid....MORE at UPI
