Breaking: Paulson Seeks Authority to Shore Up Fannie, Freddie (Update2)
KLP Note: Other headlines to go with this one.... also check SI's homepage for news .....and statements from WH, and CEO's
Feds spell out FREDDIE-FANNIE backstop plan...
White House Will Ask for Authority to Buy Stock...
Not expected to help more companies...
Government as the Big Lender...
Statement...
bloomberg.com
Paulson Seeks Authority to Shore Up Fannie, Freddie (Update2)
By Brendan Murray and Dawn Kopecki
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson swung the weight of the federal government behind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered companies that buy or finance almost half of the $12 trillion of U.S. mortgages.
Paulson, speaking on the steps of the Treasury facing the White House, asked Congress for authority to buy unlimited stakes in and lend to the companies, aiming to stem a collapse in confidence. The Federal Reserve separately authorized the firms to borrow directly from the central bank.
The announcement followed crisis talks between the firms, government officials, lawmakers and regulators, after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost about half their value last week. Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are trying to prevent a collapse in the companies that would exacerbate the worst housing recession in 25 years and deepen the economic slowdown.
Paulson's proposal, which the Treasury anticipates will be incorporated into an existing congressional bill and approved this week, signals a shift toward an explicit guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt. The two shareholder-owned companies are government-sponsored enterprises, giving investors the indication of an implicit federal backing.
Making `Explicit'
``It is time to recognize that the GSEs were always dependent upon government support and now we must make the implicit explicit,'' said Christopher Whalen, co-founder of independent research firm Institutional Risk Analytics in Torrance, California.
Paulson proposed that Congress enact legislation giving the Treasury temporary authority to buy equity ``if needed'' in the firms, and to increase their lines of credit with the department from $2.25 billion each. The temporary authority may be for 18 months, a Treasury official told reporters on a conference call on condition of anonymity.
As lenders retreated from the housing market, Washington- based Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac have grown to account for more than 80 percent of the home loans packaged into securities.
Freddie Mac is scheduled to sell $3 billion in short-term notes tomorrow, and Paulson's comments indicate a concern about a collapse in private investors' willingness to fund the firms. The companies issue debt to raise money for their purchases of mortgage securities.
Bond Sale
``This will shore up that debt offering,'' said Paul Miller, an equity analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. in Arlington, Virginia. ``They need to make sure that that debt offering goes well and goes very well and they couldn't risk waking up tomorrow and having that offering go poorly.''
The dollar pared losses after Paulson's statement. The dollar traded at $1.5925 per euro at 7:19 a.m. in Tokyo from a low of $1.5971 and from $1.5938 in late New York on July 11. It bought 106.30 yen, little changed from 106.28 yen at the end of last week.
Preferred securities tumbled in Asian trading as investors questioned if Freddie and Fannie will be able to continue to pay dividends. Freddie Mac's 5.57 percent preferred lost 39 percent this year and Fannie Mae's 5.5 percent preferred dropped 31 percent.
President George W. Bush, in a statement, said ``it is crucial that Congress quickly works to enact this legislation.''
Democratic Lawmaker
Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York who chairs the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, praised Paulson's plan, saying it ``is surgical and carefully thought out and will maximize confidence in Fannie and Freddie while minimizing potential costs to U.S. taxpayers.''
The plan would give Paulson power to buy an unspecified amount of stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the official said. He also said he didn't recall any time in the past when the government has taken an equity stake in either company.
``We continue to hold more than adequate capital reserves and maintain access to liquidity from the capital market,'' Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd said in a statement today. ``Given the market turmoil, having options to access provisional sources of liquidity if needed will help to strengthen overall confidence in the market.''
Paulson also proposed that the Fed get a ``consultative role'' overseeing the companies' capital requirements. The Fed said in a separate statement that the New York Fed was approved to make direct loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the discount rate, currently 2.25 percent, charged to commercial banks.
Echoes of Rubin
The last Treasury secretary to make a statement from the steps of the department was Robert Rubin, who sought to calm investors after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 554 points on Oct. 27, 1997.
Debt sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ``is held by financial institutions around the world,'' Paulson said today. ``Its continued strength is important to maintaining confidence and stability in our financial system and our financial markets.''
Paulson sought to ease concerns that taxpayers would foot the bill for a bailout. ``Use of either the line of credit or the equity investment would carry terms and conditions necessary to protect the taxpayer,'' he said.
Freddie Mac shares tumbled 47 percent in New York Stock Exchange composite trading last week and Washington-based Fannie Mae lost 45 percent of its value, forcing Paulson two days ago to issue a statement of support for the companies in their ``current form.''
Capital Raised
The companies have already raised $20 billion to cover losses amid the highest delinquency rates in at least 29 years. Freddie Mac said earlier this month it planned to sell $5.5 billion of equity after it reports earnings next month.
The cost to protect against a default on the companies' subordinated debt jumped last week. Credit-default swaps linked to Freddie's bonds rose to 251 basis points last week, while contracts on Fannie's increased to 246 basis points, according to CMA Datavision. On July 4, both were at 177 basis point and they started the year at 77. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Credit-default swaps are financial instruments based on bonds and loans that are used to speculate on a company's ability to repay debt. They pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a borrower fail to adhere to its debt agreements. A rise indicates deterioration in the perception of credit quality; a decline, the opposite.
Credit Ratings
Senior debt of both companies trades as if they were rated A3 instead of Aaa by Moody's Investors Service, according to data from the rankings firm's credit strategy group.
Five years ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac paid about 45 basis points more than yields on 10-year Treasuries to borrow, while other corporations paid an average of 119 basis points, the Merrill Lynch & Co. U.S. Corporate Master index shows. Last week, the yield on Freddie Mac's $1 billion of 4.5 percent notes maturing in 2013 rose as high as 102 basis points more than Treasuries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.netDawn Kopecki in Washington at dkopecki@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 13, 2008 19:39 EDT
888888888888888888888888 |
