Delinquencies Rise at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Washington Post (06/26/08) P. D1; Hilzenrath, David S.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac report that their mortgage delinquency rates have doubled over the past 12 months. Fannie Mae says the percentage of conventional home loans it guarantees that were past due by at least three months or were in foreclosure rose to 1.22 percent in April, up from 1.15 percent in March and about double the rate in April 2007. Freddie Mac reports that its delinquency rate rose to 0.81 percent in April, up from 0.77 percent in March and 0.4 percent in the year-ago period. Also, Freddie Mac expanded its mortgage-related holdings in May at an annualized growth rate of 53.4 percent to a record $770.4 billion, and Fannie Mae increased its holdings by 15 percent to $736.9 billion, largely by purchasing their own securities.