Freddie Making Loan-Limit Ceiling Universal?

While the conforming loan limit will fall back to $625,500 in high-cost areas beginning Oct. 1, the new ceiling will be the same for all of Freddie Mac's customers. At least that's the plan, according to Patricia McClung, who is responsible for the initiation and deployment of all single-family product offers at the company. "We're still working out the details," Ms. McClung said at the recent New England Mortgage Bankers Conference in Newport, R.I. "But our plan is to make it available to all our customers -- cash window, guarantor, and multilenders alike." The Freddie Mac executive also assured a standing-room-only session that her company and its chief rival, Fannie Mae, "are still here to keep markets liquid." She said a major reason the two companies were taken into receivership three weeks ago is that they are "so vital to the business that we need to be successful." Jennifer Whip, vice president of marketing in Fannie Mae's Eastern region, also addressed the concerns of nervous lenders, who packed the room to hear what lies ahead for the two mortgage giants. "We're here to work with you," she told the group. "Tough as it is, this is the market Fannie Mae was created to serve."