Fannie/Freddie Need Your Money Again; Builders Optimistic; Rates Shun Stocks; How Bad Could it Get?

While the prospect of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needing taxpayer money conjures up images of a failing mortgage market requiring a government bailout, that's very far from the case this time around. In fact, taxpayers continue to come out way ahead with respect to the GSEs' conservatorship agreement, even after the draws that will be needed to cover 4th quarter losses. At issue are one-time write-downs arising from accounting changes in response to the new tax bill. After this, it should be business as usual (a business that has been returning a significant amount of money to US taxpayers). Both Freddie Mae and Fannie Mae posted strong full-year incomes for 2017 despite that both also suffered fourth quarter losses courtesy of the new tax law. Fannie's comprehensive income was $2.5 billion

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2018/2/15/3229