What We?re Hearing: No HQ Sale for Freddie Mac / Will the CFPB Buy the Fannie Property? Now, Why Does Fannie Mae Need an Attorney with NYSE Knowledge?
(the stories never addressed the Atty w / NYSE knowledge)
Fannie Mae made big news this week when the GSE told employees that it will sell its Wisconsin Avenue headquarters in Northwest Washington, DC, and move elsewhere. One of our readers who works at the FHFA sent us regulatory language reminding us that Fannie must be located in DC. Freddie Mac, on the other hand, does not, which is why it?s based in Virginia. A Freddie official told us that to the best of his knowledge the company is staying put in McLean, VA?
Where will Fannie ultimately wind up? The early betting is the Washington waterfront near Nationals Park?
One GSE watcher reminded us that back in the 1980s then-Fannie Mae Chief Executive David Maxwell was having a major business disagreement with a Wall Street executive well known for his knowledge of the MBS market. The feud got so bad that the Wall Street executive bought a ?for sale? sign and placed it on Fannie?s front lawn and then took a picture of it. David Maxwell was not pleased. Back then Fannie was losing $1 million a day?
One last note on the Fannie HQ story: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau incurred a public relations black eye recently when its Inspector General issued a report finding that renovation costs for the bureau?s headquarters in Washington now stand at $215.8 million ? $160.8 million more than the original estimate. Maybe CFPB should buy the Fannie property? The consumer watchdog could probably get it for under $100 million?
What?s the difference between a mortgage ?lending? REIT and one that invests in mortgage-backed securities? Yield, for one. Redwood Trust, a pioneer in the new era of jumbo MBS issuance, pays a nice dividend and yield of 5.8 percent. Annaly Capital Management, which invests mostly in MBS, pays a mouthwatering 10.7 percent. Of course, Redwood does more than just buy loans and issue MBS. And some MBS investing REITs are starting to buy servicing rights?
WASHINGTON NEWS: The FHFA late this week proposed increasing some of the benchmark affordable housing goals for Fannie and Freddie through 2017, while also establishing new housing ?sub? goals for low-income multifamily properties. The proposed rule ? which requests public comment ? presents three alternatives for determining whether a GSE has met the congressionally mandated single-family housing goals for 2015 to 2017. At press time, an alert on the matter was being emailed to subscribers of Inside The GSEs and Inside Mortgage Finance. Reporting by Charles Wisniowski / cwisniowski@imfnews.com.
AI
