OFHEO May Limit Freddie Portfolio Growth

OFHEO Director Armando Falcon Jr. is considering a special capital charge on Freddie Mac and possibly a limit on its portfolio growth until the mortgage giant takes the necessary remedial actions required under the consent decree announced on Wednesday.Mr. Falcon said he might require Freddie to post as much as an additional 30% minimum capital until it takes remedial action to fix its financial reporting problems. At a news conference discussing the decree, he said he is considering these moves but has not made a final decision yet. "We are going to consider how much of a [capital] surplus the company should maintain until all these remediation efforts have been fully implemented," the director said. He noted that he can impose these measures by edict and does not have to wait for the regulatory process. The sanctions are mentioned in the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report on the $5 billion reaudit scandal (see item below). But a Freddie Mac spokesman said the sanctions are not in the decree. "We can't say anything more about it at this time," the spokesman said.