Calculated Risk Wed 2009-11-25 11:38 EST

Fannie Mae: $18.9 Billion Loss, Requests Another $15 Billion

CalculatedRisk

Press Release: Fannie Mae Reports Third-Quarter 2009 Results Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) reported a net loss of $18.9 billion in the third quarter of 2009, compared with a loss of $14.8 billion in the second quarter of 2009. ... Third-quarter results were largely due to $22.0 billion of credit related expenses, reflecting the continued build of the company's combined loss reserves and fair value losses associated with the increasing number of loans that were acquired from mortgage backed securities trusts in order to pursue loan modifications. ... As a result, on November 4, 2009, the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) submitted a request for $15.0 billion from Treasury on the company's behalf.

15; 18; 9; Calculated Risk; Fannie Mae; losses; requesting.

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Wed 2009-11-25 10:44 EST

Fed Beaten: Bill To Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle

The Huffington Post News Editors

In an unprecedented defeat for the Federal Reserve, an amendment to audit the multi-trillion dollar institution was approved by the House Finance Committee with an overwhelming and bipartisan 43-26 vote on Thursday afternoon despite harried last-minute lobbying from top Fed officials and the surprise opposition of Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who had previously been a supporter. The measure, cosponsored by Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), authorizes the Government Accountability Office to conduct a wide-ranging audit of the Fed's opaque deals with foreign central banks and major U.S. financial institutions. The Fed has never had a real audit in its history and little is known of what it does with the trillions of dollars at its disposal.

Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle; billed; com; Fed Beaten; full Feeds; HuffingtonPost.

Fri 2009-11-20 09:44 EST

Fannie and Freddie Fire Their Own Inspector General

Ryan Grim

There is no independent auditor overseeing the federal agency responsible for some $6 trillion in home mortgages, because the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel ruled that the agency's inspector general didn't have authority to operate, according to internal memos obtained by the Huffington Post. The ruling came in response to a request from the Federal Housing Finance Agency itself -- which means that a federal agency essentially succeeded in getting rid of its own inspector general.

Fannie; Freddie Fire; Inspector generally.

The Economic Populist - Speak Your Mind 2 Cents at a Time Sat 2009-10-10 12:53 EDT

Proposal: A New Mortgage Finance System

Our mortgage finance system is broken. It needs some serious restructuring or a complete overhaul. We can learn a lot about a new structure from the Danes. The Danish mortgage system is one of the oldest and most sophisticated housing finance markets in the world...Danish mortgage system is a pass-through system that allows mortgage borrowers to benefit from close to capital market financing conditions. In the Danish system, borrower/homeowner don't obtain a mortgage from a mortgage loan originator such as a bank or mortgage lender. They borrow from investors in a transparent and standardized bond market through a mortgage credit institution (MCI). MCI issues bonds in the bond market that match as much as possible the amount and maturity of the borrower's mortgage. The beauty of this system is that a mortgage is exactly matched and balanced with an actively traded bond. MCIs play the vital roles of advisors to the borrower/homeowner and bearer of the credit risk of the mortgage -- they remain ``on the hook'' in the event of delinquency or default. They are mortgage credit insurers. The MCI originator bears full responsibility for timely payments from the borrower/homeowner. So, MCI has an incentive to make sure borrower/homeowners obtain a mortgage loan that is affordable for that family. Meanwhile, bond investors worry about only interest rate risk, with complete insurance on the mortgage that backs the their bond investment. This makes for a highly efficient system.

economic populist; Mind 2 Cents; New Mortgage Finance System; proposed; speaking; Time.

Fri 2009-07-24 00:00 EDT

Freddie Pressured Over Accounting Disclosure

Freddie Mac disputes information disclosure suppressed by regulator Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

account disclosures; Freddie Pressured.