Freddie Has Strong Purchase Month

Freddie Mac purchased $55 billion worth of mortgages in December, its best purchase month since September. For the year, its loan acquisitions totaled $577.7 billion, a 15% gain from the prior year. Its retained portfolio grew 2.4% in December to $720.8 billion, while business volumes improved to $55.1 billion. Its total "book of business" grew to $2.10 trillion during the month or 15.1% year over year. A research report released by Credit Suisse says, "Freddie changed its disclosure surrounding it portfolio market value-level sensitivity. Using the prior disclosure percentage change and the dollar amount it now discloses, we estimate that fair value of common equity fell to a range of $11 - 13 per share in November, down from roughly $25 in Q3. This would represent a decline of over 50% in Q4." Freddie releases year-end earnings in late February.