The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday that it would stop making quarterly classifications of capital adequacy at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while the government-sponsored enterprises operate under conservatorship.
The agency said the public could still judge capital levels at Fannie and Freddie by reviewing data in their quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the months leading up to the government takeover, FHFA Director James Lockhart had insisted that both GSEs were well capitalized. But he said Thursday that they were undercapitalized as of June 30 and were weighed down by safety-and-soundness weaknesses, especially those related to credit risk.
Fannie and Freddie were also hampered by a weak earnings outlook and deterioration in the equity, debt, and mortgage-backed securities markets, he said.
