The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Tuesday that it earned $1.09 billion in 1995, up 11% from earnings in 1994. Fourth- quarter earnings were $291 million, up 15%.
Chairman Leland C. Brendsel attributed the strong performance to growth in the agency's portfolio of loans, which offset less-favorable conditions in the securitization business.
Net interest income - largely income from the loan portfolio - totaled $394 million in the fourth quarter, a gain of 38% from a year earlier.
Management and guarantee fees, which the agency earns by guaranteeing principal and interest payments on mortgage-backed securities, totaled $269 million in the quarter, down 3%.
Freddie Mac attributed the decline to a drop of 0.5 basis points in the guarantee-fee rate, as well as a decline in the size of its mortgage-backed securities portfolio.
Separately, the rival Federal National Mortgage Association announced a dividend of 19 cents a share after a four-for-one stock split, which became effective Tuesday. The payout represents an increase of 11.7% after adjusting for the split.