Fannie, Freddie Business as Usual, But…

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced that their commitment windows remained open Tuesday andwere open Wednesday, 24 hours after terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A Fannie Mae spokeswoman said mortgage commitments were being funded but that volume was lighter thanusual. Fannie Mae canceled a weekly Benchmark Bills auction scheduled for Wednesday, but said issuance of short-termdiscount notes is "ongoing." It was expected that Freddie Mac would also cancel some of its debt sales,but Freddie Mac spokespersons were unclear on this at MortgageWire'sdeadline. Both the secondary giants -- which buy loans from lenders in the primary market, thus providing liquidity-- stressed that it was business as usual Wednesday. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, the nation'slargest retail lender, also said it was business as usual Wednesday, but added that it had closed its Frederick,Md., servicing operation Tuesday in the wake of the attack on the Pentagon and reports of a possible attack onCamp David, which is near Frederick.