SOURCE OF PROFIT: Serious Delinquencies Fell in Fe
Post# of 1629
04/03/2013|
Fannie Mae said serious delinquencies on single-family mortgages in its portfolio fell during February, as the U.S. housing market continues to show signs of a recovery.
The mortgage finance company on Tuesday had reported 2012 net income of $17.2 billion, its largest annual profit in its history and first in six years, as it was buoyed by the housing market's turnaround and declining rates of soured loans.
Fannie said the percentage of loans at least 90 days delinquent declined to 3.13% during the month from 3.18% during January. The prior-year rate was 3.82%.
The report also showed that Fannie's mortgage portfolio dropped 13% to $604.29 billion from a year earlier and was off by 2.6% from January. Its book of business, which includes mortgage- backed securities and other guarantees, declined to $3.181 trillion, an annualized rate of decline of 1.7%.
In addition, Fannie's net commitments to purchase mortgages fell 39% to $2.24 billion from a year earlier but were up 21% from the previous month.
The U.S. government took over the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through a legal process known as conservatorship in September 2008 as rising mortgage defaults threatened to burn through thin capital reserves.