Freddie Mac didn’t have a dividend obligation during the fourth quarter since it reported a comprehensive loss for the third quarter, said Lisa Gagnon, a spokeswoman for the mortgage firm.
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The company said the year 2015 marks the fourth consecutive year of positive earnings, driven by solid net interest income, despite mandated reduction in mortgage-related investments portfolio.
For the full year, Fannie Mae reported a drop in net income, falling to $11.0 billion, compared to $14.2 billion in 2014.
Fannie and Freddie’s capital buffers are scheduled to be wound down to zero at the beginning of 2018, from the current level of $1.2 billion for each entity.
Over the past few years, Fannie Mae’s profits have been impacted not only by interest-rate swings but also by one- time events, such as money gained from crisis-era settlements with lenders. Fannie participated in 249,000 refinancings in the most recent quarter. The Enterprise expects to pay a $2.9 billion dividend to Treasury in the first quarter of 2016, bringing the total dividend paid to Treasury up to $147.6 billion-$31.5 billion more than the $116.1 billion bailout Fannie Mae received from taxpayers in 2008.
In an email, a Treasury spokesman also voiced support for reform.
“Investor confidence is critical if we are to have, as we do today, a well-functioning and highly liquid housing finance market that makes it possible for families to lock in interest rates, obtain 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, and prepay a mortgage if they want to refinance or need to move”, Watt said in the speech.
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“We commend Director Watt for advancing this critical conversation about the future of our nation’s housing finance system”. However, a bipartisan effort to replace the companies died in 2014, and legislators in an election year have shown little willingness to consider that or another bill.
