Mudd: No Housing Recovery Till End of '09

Top executives at Fannie Mae now believe that home prices will not "begin to stabilize until the end of 2009," Fannie Mae president and chief executive officer Daniel Mudd told investors and analysts on Friday.As a result, he said Fannie Mae has taken additional steps to tighten risk management, including an increase in the company's guarantee fee last week. Fannie Mae affirmed its 2007 credit loss estimate of 4 to 6 basis points of its total book of business. However, Mr. Mudd said the credit loss ratio could move up to 8-10 bps next year, an estimate that assumes a 4% national decline in home values and no national recession.