Fannie Mae Absorbs $6.5B Q4 Loss

Fannie Mae reported a net loss of $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017 and stated that it will need $3.7 billion from the Treasury Department. Timothy J. Mayopoulos, president and CEO of Fannie Mae, blamed the government-sponsored enterprise’s dismal fourth quarter data on a "one-time accounting charge" tied to the recent tax reform legislation.

 

Fannie Mae reported a fourth quarter 2017 net loss of $6.5 billion, compared with net income of $3 billion in the third quarter. For the full 2017 year, Fannie Mae reported net income of $2.5 billion, compared with net income of $12.3 billion in 2016. Fannie Mae’s annual pre-tax income for 2017 was $18.4 billion, compared with $18.3 billion in 2016. Also, Fannie Mae provided more than $67 billion in multifamily and other rental financing in 2017 while supporting 770,000 units of multifamily housing, the highest volume recorded for its Delegated Underwriting and Servicing program.

 

Mayopoulos insisted that “the fundamentals of our business are strong” and predicted Fannie Mae would “benefit from a lower tax rate going forward.”