Secondary

Freddie Mac is on track to double the number of low down payment mortgages it will buy in 2017, while continuing to see its serious delinquency rate fall to record lows.

Freddie Mac said it earned enough in the second quarter to send a $2 billion dividend to the U.S. Treasury, but the press release announcing the company’s financial results includes new language suggesting uncertainty as to whether the payment will be made as scheduled.

The private equity firm obtained an $825 million mortgage on the portfolio from Citi, Deutsche Bank and Barclays; proceeds, along with $500 million of mezzanine debt, will be used to repay exist debt and cash out $207 million of equity.

Old Republic International Corp. is again making noise about bringing its mortgage insurance subsidiary back to active status, while separating it out from the holding company.

Regardless of whether Congress could act, proponents don’t seem to fully appreciate the potential unintended consequences of a future without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The delinquency rate for securitized commercial mortgages, which jumped in June, retreated just as quickly in July, falling 26 basis points to 5.49%. It's now only two basis points above its May level.

It's the second multifamily lender to debut in the CRE-CLO market this year, following Greystone, which completed its first deal in March. Like Greystone's deal, this one has a reinvestment period.

Freddie Mac has set a November implementation date for its plan to tighten restrictions on seller-funded down payments.

Shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say a trove of documents they have obtained bolsters their case that the government lied when it decided to take all of the mortgage companies’ profits.

Ellie Mae had second-quarter net income of $18.8 million, a 77% increase over the $10.6 million in the same period last year largely due to a tax accounting change.