Raines: Fannie to Target Subprime Market

Fannie Mae estimates that half of subprime borrowers have only slightly blemished credit records, and the mortgage giant intends to be more aggressive in serving this market, according to Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive Franklin Raines."Fannie is moving ahead with a concerted effort to serve the subprime market," Mr. Raines told the America's Community Bankers annual convention. "And helping our ACB partners compete and succeed in this market is a vital part of the strategy." [It could not be immediately determined whether this would require a charter revision for the government-sponsored enterprise.] Mr. Raines noted that $323 billion of subprime loans were originated last year and the market is growing. "We estimate that about half of subprime borrowers have only slightly blemished credit and are just a notch away from qualifying for Fannie Mae's prime conventional financing," Mr. Raines said. He added that Fannie Mae could serve those subprime borrowers without lowering its credit standards. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com, and ACB can be found at http://www.americascommunitybankers.com.