[FRE] Sir Mars ... Freddie likes those Curves too. <g>
Freddie Mac Steps Up Mortgage Purchases
Monday April 24, 2:41 pm ET
Freddie Mac Steps Up Mortgage Purchases in March, Second Consecutive Month
NEW YORK (AP) -- Freddie Mac took advantage of cheaper valuations in March to boost its holdings of mortgage bonds for the second month in a row.
The housing agency's retained, or investment, portfolio rose $10.09 billion to $715.4 billion, for an annualized rate of growth of 17.2 percent.
That brought growth for the first three months of the year to 3.0 percent.
Freddie sought to take advantage of a "modest widening of mortgage debt spreads," said Michael Cosgrove, a spokesman for Freddie Mac.
Freddie is chartered by Congress to provide liquidity to the U.S. mortgage market. It buys mortgages from lenders, freeing them to make more loans. Some loans are repackaged into mortgage securities and sold, while the company keeps others in its portfolio.
Freddie profits from the difference between the yield on these bonds and the interest it pays on debt it issues to fund the purchases.
The last time Freddie added significantly to its holdings was late last year. "As in November when spreads widened sharply, Freddie came in with both feet," said Jim Vogel, executive vice president at FTN Financial Capital Markets.
Freddie primarily added to its holdings of fixed-rate MBS. The company's holdings of its own participation certificates and structured securities was up by around $9.5 billion at $364.61 billion, while its holdings of MBS issued by other housing agencies also rose, albeit by less than $1 billion.
Freddie's holdings of non-agency MBS, backed primarily by adjustable-rate mortgages, were virtually unchanged at $243.19 billion.
Its holding of whole mortgage loans were also flat at $62.9 billion.
Freddie purchased $30.58 billion of MBS in March, up from $22.49 billion in February. This was partially offset by $5.75 billion in sales, down from $8.06 billion in the prior month. Mortgage bonds that either matured or were paid off early were up slightly at $14.75 billion in March from $13.28 billion in February.
Mortgage purchase agreements, an indication of future growth, were up by nearly 50 percent at $32.08 billion at the end of March from $17.55 billion at the end of February. Mortgage purchase agreements are contracts to purchase mortgage that have yet to close.
It's unclear whether Freddie will continue buying mortgage bonds at the same pace. "Monthly activity can be volatile," Cosgrove said.
Shares of McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac slipped 35 cents to $60.01 in afternoon trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
biz.yahoo.com
Freddie Mac to Buy Back $26.3B in Debt
Monday April 24, 9:06 am ET
Freddie Mac Makes Tender Offer for Up to $26.3 Billion in Bonds With Expired Call Options
MCLEAN, Va. (AP) -- Mortgage financing company Freddie Mac said Monday it is offering to buy back up to $26.3 billion of its bonds with expired call options.
The company will buy back the debt at a premium to face value based on a fixed spread above the bonds' yield to maturity ranging between 1.4 and 4.2 basis points, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The bonds are set to mature between 2007 and 2011.
The sale will take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. the week of April 24-28. Bondholders can redeem the debt through lead manager Morgan Stanley or co-dealer managers J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS Investment Bank.
biz.yahoo.com |
