The Archives
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12.11.08November foreclosures drop 7%From CNN: Foreclosure filings dropped 7% from October to November, according a report released Thursday. But don't break out the bubbly. The tide of foreclosures may be ebbing now, but the flood isn't over yet. "There are several indications that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months," James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO, said in a statement. November foreclosure filings fell to 259,085, or one for every 488 households in the nation, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties. That was down from October, but up 28% from November ...
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11.21.08Stay in your home for the holidays!From CNN: Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have directed their network of servicers to halt all foreclosure and eviction proceedings between Nov. 26 2008 and Jan. 9, 2009, meant to give a recently announced rescue plan time to work. The Streamlined Modification Program, set to launch Dec. 15, enables delinquent borrowers to get a modified mortgage that lowers payments to no more than 38% of their gross incomes. "By delaying these foreclosure sales, the nation's servicers will have the opportunity to work with more borrowers who could qualify for a modification under the new [program]," said Freddie Mac CEO David M. ...
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11.14.08Freddie loses $25 BillionFrom CNN: Freddie Mac reported a $25 billion quarterly loss Friday that forced the mortgage finance giant to tap $100 billion in bailout money set aside by the government. The loss triggered a $13.8 billion Treasury Department investment in Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500). The firm is likely to get the money by the end of the month; Treasury will receive preferred shares in return. A Treasury spokeswoman did not have any immediate comment. Treasury and regulator Federal Home Finance Authority announced on Sept. 7 that they had taken control of Freddie and Fannie Mae, the other giant mortgage finance company, when it became ...
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09.02.08Housing fix backfiresFrom CNN: Back in February, Congress passed into law a quick fix for the housing market. Unfortunately, it hasn't done much good. As part of the economic stimulus plan, lawmakers raised the limit on the size of home loans mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can guarantee, from $417,000 to as high as $729,750 in some of the most expensive U.S. markets. That was supposed to bring down mortgage rates on jumbo loans and help goose sales in cities across the country - mostly on the East and West coasts - where even outhouses go for close to half a mil. So ...
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08.18.08Fannie, Freddie shares batteredFrom CNN: Shares of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, suffering their worst day since a mid-July free fall, plunged Monday to their lowest points in nearly two decades. Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) fell 22% and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) lost 25% after a Barron's report suggested that a government takeover of the troubled mortgage financiers is inevitable. Fannie closed down $1.76 to $6.15 a share, the stock's lowest level since May 12, 1989, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago business school. Fannie ended down $1.46 to $4.39, its lowest point since ...
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08.18.08Recapitalization of Fannie and Freddie likelyFrom Reuters: The U.S. Treasury is growing increasingly likely to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the months ahead on the taxpayer's dime, Barron's reported in its August 18 edition. The weekly financial newspaper said that such a move could wipe out existing holders of the agencies' common stock, with preferred shareholders and even holders of the two entities' $19 billion of subordinated debt also suffering losses. An insider in the Bush administration told Barron's that Fannie and Freddie "are being jawboned" by the Treasury Department and their new regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to raise more equity. But government officials ...
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08.18.08Fannie loses 2.3 billionFrom CNN: Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae reported a much larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter and slashed its dividend, more signs that the problems in housing and financial markets are not over. The firm reported a net loss of $2.3 billion, or $2.54 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a loss of 68 cents a share, compared to earnings of $1.86 a share a year earlier. But large increase in reserves for bad debt and a writedown in the value of its holdings hurt the results. The company also slashed its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share, down 86% ...
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08.18.08Freddie Mac loses $821 million for the quarterFrom Bloomberg: Freddie Mac, the U.S. mortgage-finance company hobbled by record foreclosures, slashed its dividend at least 80 percent after posting a quarterly loss that was three times wider than analysts’ estimates. Freddie dropped 19 percent in New York trading and the larger Fannie Mae declined 15 percent on mounting concern that the government-chartered companies will sacrifice shareholders to bolster capital. Freddie doubled its reserves for future home- loan losses to $2.8 billion, a sign that Chief Executive Officer Richard Syron sees no end in sight to the worst housing slump since the Great Depression. The results, combined with Syron’s delay in selling ...