FHFA lowers GSEs bailout estimate

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need to draw as much as another $142 billion in bailout funds from the Treasury Department by the end of 2014. That is down from prior estimates of $154 billion. So far, the GSEs have drawn $169 billion from the Treasury under the terms of senior preferred stock purchase agreements. Subtracting the amount of dividends paid back to the Treasury so far, the GSEs still owe $142 billion. In its role as conservator for the government-sponsored enterprises, the FHFA made projections on the company’s Treasury draws for the next three years using three financial scenarios. The regulator now believes Fannie and Freddie may ultimately need to draw between $220 billion and $311 billion from the Treasury, which is down from a prior ceiling of $363 billion projected last year. Subtracting dividend payments overtime, the net bailout needed to keep Fannie and Freddie operational would range between a best-case scenario of $121 billion and a worst-case scenario of $193 billion. The FHFA attributed the lower estimate to better-than-expected financial results at the companies over the past 12 months. The regulator expects Fannie’s projected draws will be higher than Freddie Mac because of Fannie’s higher delinquency rate and a book of business nearly 50% larger. With dividend payments factored in, Fannie is projected to draw between $85 billion to $144 billion over the next three years, while Freddie is forecasted to draw net of dividend payments between $36 billion to $49 billion (click on the chart below to expand). The FHFA stressed the figures were projections based on where they believe home prices and a variety of other still-hazy factors could go. “The projections do not define the full range of possible outcomes,” the FHFA said. Write to Jason Philyaw.