A decline in long-term interest rates drove quarterly earnings lower at the Federal National Mortgage Association. Dividend payments are nearing $150 billion.
During the first three months of this year, the Washington-based secondary lender provided
approximately $115 billion in liquidity to the mortgage market.
Those performance metrics, as well as other operational and financial results, were presented by Fannie Mae in its earnings report for the
first-quarter 2016.
Fannie’s activity financed 210,000 home purchases and 256,000 mortgages refinances. In addition, Fannie financed 161,000 multifamily units.
Single-family business acquisitions totaled $102.2 billion during the first-quarter 2016, off from $105.6 billion three months earlier and $113.2 billion one year earlier.
Refinance share
climbed to 53.7 percent from 49.7 percent in the fourth-quarter 2015 and 63.2 percent in the first-quarter 2015.
Single-family loans accounted for $2.82 trillion of
Fannie’s $3.10 trillion total book of business as of March 31, 2016. The single-family portion was off from $2.83 trillion as of year-end 2015.
The multifamily
guaranty book of business finished the latest period at $0.22 trillion, more than $0.21 trillion three months earlier.
The government-controlled enterprise earned $1.7 billion prior to income taxes, tumbling from $3.6 billion in the fourth-quarter 2015 and $2.8 billion in the first-quarter 2015.
“The decrease in net income was due primarily to … fair value losses in the first quarter of 2016 driven by decreases in longer-term interest rates negatively impacting the value of the company’s risk management derivatives, partially offset by credit-related income for the quarter,” the report said.
After making an $0.9 billion planned dividend payment to the Treasury in June, Fannie will
have paid a total of $148.5 billion in dividends.
Since entering conservatorship in September 2008, Fannie has taken $116.1 billion in Treasury draws.
