Freddie Purchases Plunge in January

Loan purchases by Freddie Mac plunged by almost 40% in January from the total of the previous month, according to figures released Feb. 21.The decline comes amid reports that Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is unhappy with its “strategic alliance” agreement with the company. Moreover, Bank of America recently ended a strategic alliance with Freddie. But Robert Weiss, senior director of finance at Freddie Mac, said both lenders continue to be strong business partners of the secondary giant. He also said Freddie Mac's market share will not change over the long run, despite the purchase decline in January. During the month Freddie bought $55 billion in mortgages, compared with $91.2 billion in December. Compared with those of the same month a year ago, its purchases were up 5.6%. The company's retained portfolio was marginally positive in January. Mr. Weiss said the reason is that spreads were "not attractive." In January, Fannie Mae's purchase volume totaled $121 billion, a record.