Commitments to Purchase Up at Fannie But So Are Delinquencies

Even though loan purchases by Fannie Mae fell by 38% in April its commitment to buy mortgages over the next few months rose by 50%, according to new figures released by the company. This somewhat good news was tempered by rising delinquencies at the government sponsored enterprise. At the end of April, 3.15% of Fannie Mae loans were considered late, compared to 2.96% in March. (A year ago its delinquency rate was just 1.15%.) The company, which is operating under a federal conservatorship, owns roughly $280 billion in alt-A loans, 9.54% of which were considered "seriously delinquent" at the end of March. In April Fannie bought $57.6 billion of mortgages. Year-to-date it has purchased $232 billion and issued $210 billion in MBS. At the end of April its total book of business was $3.137 trillion: $770 billion of on-balance sheet assets, and guarantees of $2.63 trillion.