Fannie, Freddie May Raise Up to $20 Billion, Regulator Says

By Dawn Kopecki

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered mortgage companies, may raise as much as $20 billion in capital as part of an agreement that allows them to buy more debt securities, its regulator said.

``That's the top end of the range,'' James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said in an interview in Washington yesterday. While ``there's no specific number'' that was agreed upon, the companies and Ofheo discussed ballpark figures, he said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must raise the money before Ofheo approves any further reduction in the capital they need to guard against losses on their combined $5 trillion of mortgage investments, Lockhart said. Ofheo agreed last week to lower their capital threshold to 20 percent from 30 percent, enabling the companies to buy as much as $200 billion in securities backed by home loans and help prop up the housing market.

The capital surcharge is one of the last remaining restrictions imposed on the companies after $11.3 billion of accounting misstatements. Ofheo had required the companies to increase their capital cushion to 30 percent more than normally required to ensure they were protected against losses.

The capital may either be in common shares, preferred shares or convertible preferred shares, Lockhart said.

Fannie Mae, based in Washington, raised $7 billion in December by selling preferred stock. McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac sold $6 billion a month earlier. The companies will need to raise the capital ``sooner rather than later,'' Lockhart said.

`No Number'

The companies didn't say last week how or when they would raise the additional capital. Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Freddie Mac spokeswoman Sharon McHale declined to comment.

``There's no specific number,'' Lockhart said. ``There was a range of numbers. The best way is to say it's significant.'' The amount raised will be ``much more'' than the $5.9 billion of capital released by reducing the cushion, Lockhart said.

Fannie Mae fell $1.28, or 4.4 percent, to $27.97 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday. The stock is down 30 percent this year. Freddie Mac dropped 62 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $27.08.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created by Congress to boost homeownership. They profit by holding mortgages and mortgage bonds as investments and by charging a fee to guarantee and package loans as securities. They are required to set capital aside to absorb any losses on those mortgages.

They own or guarantee almost half the $11.5 trillion in U.S. residential-mortgage debt outstanding.

Limited Assistance

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have said they were limited in how much assistance they could offer amid regulatory limits and rising losses. Fannie Mae posted a record $3.55 billion fourth- quarter loss as rising foreclosures sent credit costs soaring. Freddie Mac reported a record $2.45 billion net loss for the period.

The Bush administration, trying to stem the mortgage crisis, has gradually eased constraints on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress lifted a ceiling on the companies' mortgage assets and raised a limit on the loans they buy to $729,750 from $417,000 in some counties.

The requirements were eased on Freddie Mac even though the company hasn't met all stipulations in a consent order issued against the company after its accounting misstatements. Freddie Mac is yet to split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer and hasn't registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required.

Freddie Mac is likely to meet those demands by midyear, Lockhart said. The company also has a search under way for a CEO to replace Richard Syron, Lockhart said.

``They are well on their way to replacing the CEO,'' Lockhart said. ``They have a search under way, so they're making good progress on that. And there will be a splitting of the duties come summer.

``We felt at this point it was important to add liquidity to the mortgage market.''