Syron: No Repeat of Freddie's '07 Loss

Although falling house prices and credit losses continue to be a problem, Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron has told investors that the mortgage giant is on the right track and that they will not see a repeat of the $3.1 billion loss the company suffered last year. "We believe our 2008 results will be significantly better than [those of] 2007," Mr. Syron said at Freddie's annual shareholder meeting. The CEO reported that Freddie will probably increase its provisions for loan losses by $5 billion to $6 billion this year. However, he said he expects to achieve 15% to 20% growth in the mortgage guarantee business and "very strong growth" in net interest income from the investment portfolio. "The bottom line is that while our credit costs are increasing in this tough environment, we believe they are manageable in any realistic scenario and mitigated by our revenue growth going forward," Mr. Syron said. The CEO also reported that Freddie is close to completing the stock registration process with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Freddie can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.