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Article: Freddie Mac Mess 'Hurts Rates'.
- Article from:
- National Mortgage News
- Article date:
- August 4, 2003
- Author:
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The fallout from Freddie Mac's accounting scandal has pushed up mortgage rates and it will crimp originations this year, according to Fannie Mae's chief executive, Franklin Raines.
In a wide-ranging press conference, Mr. Raines said the restatement of Freddie Mac's earnings and the investigation into its accounting practices has injected uncertainty into the capital markets, which has pushed up rates.
He pointed out that Fannie Mae economists have scaled back their forecast for mortgage originations this year by $300 billion to $3.4 trillion.
In addition, he said the spread between mortgage rates and Fannie Mae debt has "made it relatively less ...