Freddie Mac Getting Out of Interest-Only
NEW YORK(
) --
Freddie Mac
(FRE)
said Friday it plans to stop buying and securitizing interest-only mortgages in September.
The McLean, Va.-based mortgage lender, which was brought into conservatorship along with
Fannie Mae
(FNM)
in September 2008, said this initiative will include its Freddie Mac "Initial Interest" fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages.
The company also issued its January mortgage portfolio summary this morning, saying its single-family delinquency rate rose to 4.03% during the month, up 16 basis points from December's rate of 3.87%.
Shares of Freddie Mac closed Thursday at $1.19. The company reported its
on Wednesday, posting a loss of $6.5 billion for the final three months of 2009. The stock was up a penny to $1.20 in early trades.
Later on the same day, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Congressional committee that
Fannie and Freddie will not be outlined until at least 2011, again extending the horizon for meaningful reform of the government-sponsored enterprises' business model.
--
Written by Michael Baron in New York
.