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NEWS ABOUT: Freddie Mac

Banks Launch Mortgage Refinancing Program

(Newser) - The country’s top lenders are slowly implementing the Obama administration’s plan to help otherwise ineligible borrowers to refinance their mortgages at the current bargain-basement rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The program is open to those with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae who are current... More »

Fannie, Freddie to Pay $210M in Bonuses

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect to pay roughly $210 million in retention bonuses over the next 18 months, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some 7,600 employees are slated to get bonuses, in some cases totaling as much as $1.5 million, in a program that has drawn sharp... More »

Frank Targets Fannie, Freddie Execs' Bonuses

(Newser) - Executives at government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to receive six-figure retention bonuses, but Barney Frank wants the payments canceled, MarketWatch reports. “In this troubled economy, and in this job market, it is difficult to imagine that the companies would not be able to find... More »

Obama Housing Rescue Plan Leaves Many Out in Cold

Criteria keep many who need help from refinancing under the plan

(Newser) - A large swath of Americans will see no help under the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan, the New York Times reports. While designed to prevent 3 million to 4 million foreclosures through loan modifications, the plan doesn't cover those whose loans aren’t backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie... More »

Freddie Mac's CEO Moffett Resigns

(Newser) - Freddie Mac CEO David Moffett has notified the company’s board of directors that he will resign both his position and his seat on the board effective March 13, MarketWatch reports. The board is working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to appoint a successor. "We expect to name... More »

Freddie Mac to Let People Stay in Foreclosed Houses

Rental program aims to stop evictions

(Newser) - Freddie Mac has forged a first-of-its-kind plan to allow homeowners and tenants to remain in foreclosed homes, USA Today reports. Residents will be charged a market rental rate on leases renewable monthly after their homes have been acquired by the lender. Freddie Mac expects the program to save thousands of... More »

Mortgage Rates Plunge to Lowest Ever

But plunging house values make refinancing impossible for many homeowners

(Newser) - The benchmark 30-year mortgage interest rate has fallen below 5% for the first time ever as the collapsing economy continues to force interest rates down. Adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.25%, reports MarketWatch. But many homeowners can't take advantage of the new low rates to refinance because the value of... More »

30-Year Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Low 5.01%

Fed buys $10.2B in agency mortgage bonds

(Newser) - Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low 5.01% this week, Bloomberg reports. The drop—the 10th weekly fall in a row—comes as the Federal Reserve purchased $10.2 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae as part of a... More »

Don't Blame Fannie for Mess

Wall Street, banks, and government also at fault

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the "toxic twin" housing financing behemoths blamed for setting the world on fire, were not operating any differently than the entire financial sector, Bethany McLean writes in Vanity Fair. McLean documents Fannie Mae's history starting from conception in FDR's New Deal, when it was... More »

Fannie Mae: Tenants Can Stay

Fannie Mae won't evict tenants after foreclosures

(Newser) - Fannie Mae is offering to sign new leases with renters living in properties that have been foreclosed and are now owned by the the government-controlled mortgage company. The move brings relief to thousands of people caught in the mortgage crisis, but it turns the insitution into a huge national landlord... More »

Fannie, Freddie Brushed Off Subprime Warnings

Companies ignored risk experts for years

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can’t say they weren’t warned. Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show that both companies had internal factions who stressed the dangers of subprime mortgages several years ago. At Freddie Mac, the former chief enterprise risk officer wrote that the loans could... More »

Treasury May Lower Mortgage Rates to 4.5%

Rates could go as low as 4.5% to curb falling home prices

(Newser) - The Treasury may try to bring new mortgage rates down to 4.5%—a full percentage point lower than current rates—to revitalize the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the proposal, which is still in the early stages, the department would use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... More »

Fannie, Freddie Will Stop Foreclosures Over Holidays

Some 16K affected by pause

(Newser) - Homeowners facing foreclosure got a morsel of good news today: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t give them the boot over the holidays. The companies will suspend foreclosures of occupied houses from Nov. 26-Jan. 9 while they work out a loan-reform plan with lenders, MarketWatch reports. The six-week suspension... More »

Stocks Sink on Record Retail Plunge

Host of negative news hurts markets

(Newser) - Stocks tumbled at the open today, after a raft of negative news overshadowed yesterday’s big rally. The Dow fell 128 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P shed 2% and 1.8% respectively. The Dow shot up more than 500 points yesterday, but today brought a dismal quarterly report... More »

Freddie Posts Record $25.3B Loss; Taps $13B Infusion

(Newser) - Freddie Mac, the swamped mortgage giant seized by the government two months ago, asked for $13.8 billion from the Treasury today after a record quarterly loss plunged its net worth into the negative, Bloomberg reports. Sister company Fannie Mae, also under government control, said this week it might need... More »

Fannie, Freddie to Offer Mass Loan Modifications

Housing giants aim to reduce foreclosures

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will roll out a plan today to modify hundreds of thousands of loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The mortgage giants, under federal conservatorship, aim to reduce mortgage payments to no more than 38% of household income. Private banks... More »

Fannie Mae Posts Stunning Losses

Lender bled $29B last quarter, dwarfing total bubble gains

(Newser) - Fannie Mae lost more in the third quarter of this year than it gained from soaring house prices between all of 2002 and 2006, the New York Times reports. The massive $29 billion loss, mainly from asset writedowns, means the company may need more than the $100 billion pledged from... More »

Private Sector Sparked Subprime Crisis: Fed

Liberal housing policy wasn't at fault—risky betting was

(Newser) - A talk radio campaign blaming the credit crisis on lower-class Americans is up against new federal data, McClatchy reports. Critics argue that government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, pushed by Clinton policies, gave subprime mortgages to minority Americans who could not afford homes. But 84% of mortgages were handed out... More »

American Capitalism Is Dead. The Culprit? America

(Newser) - As Wall Street banks collapse like a house of cards, American capitalism isn’t just failing in practice; the very idea of unregulated, free-functioning markets has received a serious blow, writes Anthony Faiola in the Washington Post. Once the symbols of American economic might, there's a real possibility that many... More »

O'Reilly Berates Frank in On-Air Shouting Match

Fox host, Mass. Democrat call each other names

(Newser) - Bill O’Reilly has called for the resignation of House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, so it was a predictably tense situation when the Massachusetts Democrat appeared on his show last night. A remarkable shouting match ensued, even by O’Reilly’s standards. The Fox host quickly began screaming at... More »

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