Freddie Mac: Memo on Citi mortgages not a repurchase threat

An internal Freddie Mac memo details flaws in mortgages it bought from Citigroup (C) in late 2009 and early 2010 as Bloomberg reported Tuesday. But the review will not necessarily result in repurchases and is more of a “routine” look at those loans, a source at the government-sponsored enterprise told HousingWire. “This was a snapshot of flagged loans that raised issues (that) needed to be addressed. It doesn’t necessarily mean the loans will be repurchased,” the source said. According to Bloomberg’s review of the memo, 15% of the 375 Citi mortgages sold to Freddie Mac at the time violated quality standards, including missing appraisals, insurance documents or income miscalculations. While the normal defect rate for these loans is 5%, the Freddie Mac official warned against extrapolating trends from such a small collection of loans. Analysts at Institutional Risk Analytics also obtained the memo but the firm does not expect the exposure to Freddie Mac to become an issue for Citi. Instead, the memo raises more concerns over issues with loans from Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC). On Jan. 3, BofA announced that it would settle repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over mortgages originated from the acquired Countrywide Financial Corp. for $3 billion. These institutions “may have significantly bigger problems than the settlement announced over Christmas suggests,” according to IRA. A Citigroup spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Write to Jon Prior. Follow him on Twitter: @JonAPrior