Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[Rdy2go]

I think we may have all missed an important point regarding the Q4 2016 NWS payments. IMHO there just wasn't time for the new Treasury Secretary to be consulted on the payments prior to earnings release. In my view, the payments are not currently authorized and will not occur without his approval.

Treasury secretary Mnuchin was sworn in on Feb 13, 2017. The Q4 Earnings releases occurred February 16 (Freddie) and February 17 (Fannie).

Fannie Mae Corporate Governance Guidelines requires Treasury approval:
"a. matters requiring approval of or consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Fannie Mae, including: i. paying dividends or other distributions on or repurchasing Fannie Mae equity securities;"

http://www.fanniemae.com/resources/file/aboutus/pdf/corpgovguidelines.pdf

Could this be the reason for the changes in the text of the Earnings releases? IMHO, Yes.