U.S. taxpayers’ bailout investments in the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. have now yielded more than $50 billion in net profits thanks to a stellar quarter.
Fannie Mae disclosed in its second-quarter earnings report that it provided $144 billion
in liquidity to the mortgage market during the period.
That provided financing for 229,000 home purchase loans, 344,000 mortgage refinances and loans for 181,000
multifamily rental units.
“The company remained the largest single issuer of single-family mortgage-related securities in the secondary market in the second quarter of 2015, with an estimated market share of new single-family mortgage-related securities issuances of 37 percent, compared with 40 percent in the first quarter of 2015 and 39 percent in the second quarter of 2014,” Fannie said in the report.
Freddie Mac’s second-quarter earnings statement said that it provided $115.2 billion in mortgage market liquidity during the second quarter.
Freddie’s activities financed around 450,000 single-family loans and 170,000 apartment units.
Freddie noted that its single-family purchase volume was $101.2 billion, rising $20 billion from the first quarter.
Multifamily purchase volume was up more than 30 percent to $13.1 billion in the second quarter.
Prior to income taxes, Fannie earned $6.9 billion, surging from $2.8 billion three months earlier and $5.4 billion twelve months earlier.
Earnings at Washington-based Fannie were impacted by an increase in interest rates, which boosted the fair value of financial instruments but hurt credit-related expenses. Rising home prices, as well as the re-designation of some non-performing single-family loans to held-for-sale from held-for-investment, helped credit-related expense.
At McLean, Virginia-based Freddie, pre-tax income
was $6.1 billion during the three months ended June 30, 2015, soaring from just $0.8 billion in the first quarter and $2.0 billion in the second-quarter 2014.
Freddie cited rising interest rates, improved spreads on its marked-to-market mortgage assets and the transfer of assets from held-for-investment to held-for-sale for its improved earnings.
Fannie expects to pay $4.4 billion in dividends to the Treasury Department
in September, which would bring its payments to $142.5 billion since being thrust into conservatorship in September 2008.
Factoring the $116.1 billion in Treasury draws the company has taken, the net benefit to taxpayers is
$26.4 billion.
Over at Freddie, an anticipated $3.9 billion payment next month to the Treasury will bring its life-to-date Treasury dividends to $96.5 billion.
Freddie’s draws since conservatorship total $71.3 billion,
leaving a net profit for taxpayers of $25.2 billion.
