Fannie Mae

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US Offers Unlimited Aid to Fannie, Freddie

Feds also allow top officials to bring home fat paychecks

(Newser) - The Obama administration yesterday gave a blank check to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—just in case. The government declared it is willing to provide unlimited financial assistance to the mortgage giants over the next three years, a move designed to reassure markets that the US won't let them fail....

Goldman Deal May Bail Out Fannie Mae

But letting superbank load up on tax credits could be politically toxic

(Newser) - Goldman Sachs wants to buy millions in otherwise virtually worthless tax credits from Fannie Mae, but the mega-bank is so politically toxic right now that the Obama administration is considering blocking the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Treasury is reviewing and will not let it proceed unless it...

The Next Mortgage Lender Bailout: The FHA

Critics think fallback agency will need a rescue in next couple of years

(Newser) - Another mortgage lender specializing in low income borrowers is in trouble: the Federal Housing Administration. The agency which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could soon share their fate, as borrowers default on the low-downpayment mortgages it insures, critics told a House subcommittee yesterday. “It appears destined for a...

Rally Loses Steam; Dow Off 32
 Rally Loses Steam; Dow Off 32 
MARKETS

Rally Loses Steam; Dow Off 32

Freddie Mac sees shares rise 122% on earnings

(Newser) - Stocks wavered on the heels of last week’s rally, closing slightly lower as investors wait for comments from the Fed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Federal Reserve policy makers will conclude a 2-day meeting on Wednesday and perhaps issue a new assessment of the economic recovery. Despite a broad...

White House Weighs 'Bad Bank' Fix for Fannie, Freddie

(Newser) - The White House’s National Economic Council will meet today to discuss a drastic overhaul of beleaguered nationalized mortgage dealers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Washington Post reports. Among other proposals, officials are contemplating a “good bank, bad bank” split. Fannie and Freddie would dump their troubled loans...

Fannie Mae CEO Picked as Bailout Chief

Former Merrill Lynch prez to overhaul $700B TARP program

(Newser) - Wall Street veteran and Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison has been nominated to oversee the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue, Bloomberg reports. If confirmed by Congress—where he's likely to be grilled on his defending of bonuses at Fannie—Allison will be tasked with deploying the second phase of the...

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...

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...

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...

Fannie Mae's Task: Sell 65K Homes in Buyer's Market

Unloading homes quickly while maintaining value, Fannie walks tightrope

(Newser) - It’s no secret that for US homeowners, it’s not a seller’s market. But imagine having 65,000 properties to sell. That’s the task ahead of Fannie Mae, NPR reports, as its volume of repossessed homes grows by the day. The guarantor of a third of all...

Freddie Seeks $31B in Aid After Posting Big Loss

(Newser) - Freddie Mac said today it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a gargantuan loss of more than $50 billion last year as the US housing market worsened. The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 per share,...

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...

Fannie Mae Posts Big Loss, Takes $15B in Bailout Cash

(Newser) - Fannie Mae received $15 billion from Uncle Sam last night after reporting a $25.2 billion fourth-quarter loss, the Washington Post reports. The loss, caused mostly by sinking mortgage-related investments, brought the company’s 2008 losses to $59 billion. This marks the first time Fannie has dipped into its potential...

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...

Fannie Mae Engineer Indicted for Planting Crippling Code

Trap that could have caused millions in damage found after man was fired but before it activated

(Newser) - A former Fannie Mae contract worker was indicted Tuesday on a count of computer sabotage for planting malicious code that would have crippled the mortgage giant’s network of 4,000 servers for at least a week, Wired reports. Rajendrasinh Babubha Makwana crafted the malware the same day he was...

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...

Don't Blame Fannie for Mess
 Don't Blame Fannie for Mess 



Glossies

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...

Fannie Mae: Tenants Can Stay
 Fannie Mae: Tenants Can Stay 

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...

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...

New Reverse Mortgage Rules Help Homeowners

(Newser) - Reverse mortgages—which allow older homeowners to borrow against their equity without paying it back, as long as they live in the home—have risen in popularity since the federal government raised the limit on borrowing, the Seattle Times reports. The old ceiling for owners 62 and up was about...

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