NEW YORK Freddie Mac chief executive Leland Brendsel responded to some mortgage lenders recent griping by saying they should not worry that his organization will put them out of business.
I think we have a natural alliance with most mortgage lenders and banks in this field, Mr. Brendsel said Thursday during Freddie Macs presentation at UBS Warburgs Global Financial Services Conference.
Mortgage lenders expertise is in knowing customers, markets, and sourcing mortgage loans, which are not in our core capabilities, he said. Freddies primary purpose, Mr. Brendsel continued, is to give mortgage lenders access to global capital markets. But he acknowledged that some lenders see his company, a government-sponsored enterprise, as a threat.
Some of these views are certainly well known, but that is not the core of industry, he said of recent complaints about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
His talk touched on a bill proposed by Rep. Richard Barker, R-La., chairman of the House Capital Markets Subcommittee, that would transfer oversight of the government-sponsored agencies from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to the Federal Reserve.
I dont view Mr. Bakers comments with any alarm, Mr. Brendsel said. I think that Freddie Mac shares his objective of having a stable regulatory environment.
