Freddie Mac

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to Freddie Mac: Fannie Mae

Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation)

A Congressionally chartered corporation that purchases residential mortgages in the secondary market from S&Ls, banks, and mortgage bankers and securities for sale in the capital markets.

Freddie Mac

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). A publicly-traded company chartered by the U.S. Congress to guarantee mortgages granted to low- or middle-income households. In order to do this, it buys mortgages and repackages them, selling them as mortgage-backed securities. It also maintains its own portfolio of mortgage-backed securities. It was established in 1970 to provide competition for Fannie Mae, which provides the same services and also had an implicit guarantee of federal backing. With the collapse of the housing bubble, Freddie Mac was placed in federal receivership in 2008 as a result of overexposure to this market. See also: Community Reinvestment Act, Credit Crunch.

Freddie Mac

1. A stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress in 1970 to help supply funds to mortgage lenders such as commercial banks, mortgage bankers, savings institutions, and credit unions that in turn make funds available to homeowners and multifamily investors. Freddie Mac purchases mortgages from lenders and then packages the mortgages into guaranteed securities that are sold to investors. The firm's common stock trades as FRE on the New York Stock Exchange. Formerly called Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

2. A security that is issued by this corporation and is secured by pools of conventional home mortgages. Holders of Freddie Macs receive a share of the interest and principal payments made by the homeowners.

Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is a shareholder-owned corporation that was chartered in 1970 to increase the supply of mortgage money that lenders are able to make available to homebuyers.

To do its job, Freddie Mac buys mortgages from banks and other lenders, packages them as securities, and sells the securities to investors. The money it raises by selling these bonds pays for purchasing the mortgages.

Lenders use the money they realize from selling mortgages to Freddie Mac to make additional loans. Lenders must be approved in order to participate in the program. Loans must meet Freddie Mac qualifications to be eligible for purchase.

To facilitate the lending process, Freddie Mac provides lenders with an automated underwriting tool to help them evaluate mortgage applications.

Freddie Mac guarantees the securities it issues, but the bonds aren't federal debts and aren't federally guaranteed.

Like its sister corporation Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Freddie Mac

See Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

Freddie Mac

One of two federal agencies that purchase home loans from lenders. The other is Fannie Mae.

See Secondary Mortgage Markets/Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

References in periodicals archive ?

Mortgages that exceed the FHA's single-family mortgage size limits but not the limit on mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase ($203,150 in 1994) are referred to here as "GSE-eligible only" mortgages, a term we shorten further to "GSEO-eligible.

Credit risk and the provision of mortgages to lower-income and minority homebuyers

For example, in 1992 about half the loans backed by Ginnie Mae were made to borrowers with incomes less than the median family income for their MSA, compared with about a quarter of the loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (table 14).

Residential lending to low-income and minority families: evidence from the 1992 HMDA data

We are pleased to enjoy this status with Freddie Mac, and believe that it indicates the strength and depth of our relationship.

Wachovia receives Freddie Mac Delegated Underwriting status

Enhance the affordable housing requirements for Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac.

Homebuilders approve new housing regulation rules

A number of predatory practices have been seen from time to time in that market,'' said Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German.

FREDDIE MAC'S MORTGAGE SHIFT PROTECTS CONSUMERS

The lawsuit alleges that despite repeated public denials and assurances to the contrary, Freddie Mac was deeply invested in the subprime mortgage industry and failed to disclose that it was not protecting itself from the billion-dollar risks it incurred.

Ohio AG sues Freddie Mac over subprime mortgage losses

We are pleased to offer Freddie Mac programs to our customer base," added Steven Heller, SVP/ Eastern Region of ARCS Commercial Mortgage.

ARCS named Freddie Mac lender

21 percent, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking this benchmark mortgage in 1971.

BRIEFCASE WELLPOINT'S NO. 1 IN SURVEY ON DRUGS

Freddie Mac announces the pricing of the SB33 offering, a multifamily mortgage-backed securitization backed by small balance loans underwritten by Freddie Mac and issued by a third-party trust.

United States : Freddie Mac Announces Pricing of $198 Million Multifamily Small Balance Loan Securitization

Freddie Mac announced in February that it set a new record for multifamily business transacted in 2007, with a 55 percent increase over the previous year.