Freddie Mac Turns $2.93M Q1 Profit

Freddie Mac reported $2.93 in net income for the first quarter, a significant turnaround from the fourth quarter of 2017 when it recorded a $3.3 billion loss and needed a $300 million Treasury draw. But despite its positive quarterly performance, Freddie Mac stated it would not make a dividend payment to the Treasury Department, seeking instead to rebuild its $3 billion capital buffer.

 

The government-sponsored enterprise’s single-family guarantee portfolio grew three percent from the prior year to $1.84 trillion, while the serious delinquency rate on this business was 0.97 percent—if the areas impacted by last year’s hurricanes were factored out, the rate would have been 0.75 percent. The multifamily guarantee portfolio grew 30 percent from the prior year to $213 billion, with a historic low delinquency rate at 0.02 percent.

 

“Freddie Mac delivered $2.2 billion of comprehensive income this quarter, despite a major change in interest rates,” said Chief Executive Officer Donald H. Layton. “In a period with no significant items and little impact from legacy asset dispositions, this demonstrated the increased stability of our earnings. We also continued our impressive record of innovation-through a steady stream of real improvements by all three business lines. In short, our results this quarter provide a particularly clear view of our earnings capacity and the progress we’ve made in fulfilling our mission by creating a better housing finance system for lenders, investors, families and taxpayers.”

 

Fannie Mae will announce its first quarter results on Thursday.

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