Freddie Posts $354M Quarterly Loss

The GSE wrote $18 billion in new multifamily business during Q1.

MCLEAN, VA—Freddie Mac on Tuesday reported a net loss of $354 million during the first quarter of 2016. The mortgage giant attributed the loss mainly to $2 billion of fair value losses related to net declining interest rates and wider spreads on certain mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities, offsetting the GSE’s positive business results.

The quarterly loss, Freddie Mac’s second in the past three quarters, compared to a net profit of nearly $2.2 billion in Q4 2015 and $524 million in the year-ago period. “While the resulting flight-to-quality decrease in interest rates reduced our GAAP results this quarter, an impact which is non-economic in nature, the fundamentals of our business are very solid and continue to improve,” says CEO Donald Layton.