Fannie Purchases Fall to Multiyear Lows

Fannie Mae acquired just $40.48 billion worth of mortgages from its seller/servicers in August, its worst purchase month in several years. The weak showing was not unexpected. In August, both Fannie and Freddie Mac reported to government officials that they were "unable to access capital markets to bolster" their capital positions without financing from the Treasury Department, according to James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. August was the last month in which Fannie and Freddie were in operation before being placed in federal conservatorships. Compared with those of August 2007, Fannie's loan purchases fell 38%. Freddie Mac -- which reported its purchase figures last week -- also had a horrible August in terms of loan acquisitions. Freddie bought just $25.77 billion from its seller/servicers, a dramatic 43% decline from the level recorded a year earlier. During the month, both government-sponsored enterprises were sellers of mortgage assets, with Freddie unloading $32.5 billion worth of product, one of its largest sales months ever. The GSEs can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com and http://www.freddiemac.com.