In Brief: Fannie, Freddie Meet Capital Requirements

WASHINGTON — The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight confirmed Wednesday that the secondary mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were adequately capitalized at the end of the third quarter.

Fannie Mae, with core capital of $19.9 billion, exceeded its minimum capital requirement by $489 million. Freddie Mac, with core capital of $13.9 billion, was $340 million above its minimum level.

In addition to conducting quarterly capital assessments of the two government-sponsored enterprises, OFHEO is responsible for creating a risk-based capital standard for them. That standard, under development for eight years, has been finalized, director Armando Falcon Jr. reported last month. However, the agency has not released the rule and will not make details of it public until it is approved by the Office of Management and Budget and published in the Federal Register.

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