WASHINGTON—Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae reported net incomes of $2.4 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively, in the second quarter of 2018. Each entity saw slight increases from their first-quarter gains.
For the second quarter, Freddie Mac said its total guarantee portfolio grew 6% from last year to $2.1 trillion; the GSE's single-family new mortgage originations grew 29% over the same period. Fannie Mae said it provided about $111 billion in liquidity to the single-family mortgage market in the second quarter and $14.5 billion in multifamily financing.
The GSEs will pay dividends to the U.S. Treasury in September as their capital reserves ended the second quarter above $3 billion: Freddie Mac will pay $1.6 billion; Fannie Mae will pay $4.5 billion.
In December, Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a deal to allow the GSEs to reinstate $3 billion in their capital reserves, an action supported by NAFCU. NAFCU said it is also gathering comments from credit unions on the agency's proposed rule to set capital requirements for the GSEs.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have been under the FHFA's conservatorship since 2008, and there have been ongoing and multiple calls in Washington to return the two entities to private ownership. NAFCU, for instance, said it continues to push for housing reform that guarantees credit unions access to the secondary housing market and for fair pricing based on loan quality instead of volume.