Bos laat Alt-A hypotheken opnieuw onderzoeken

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Minister Bos van Financiën laat de Amerikaanse Alt-A hypohekenportefeuille van ING opnieuw onderzoeken. Hij wil weten of vroegtijdige aflossingen door huizeneigenaren de kwaliteit verslechteren.


Dat schrijft de PvdA-bewindspersoon vandaag in een brief aan de Tweede Kamer. 'Vervroegde aflossing is niet per definitie goed voor de portefeuille omdat doorgaans de betere hypotheken met relatief hoge rentes vervroegd worden afgelost', schrijft de minister aan het parlement. De Staat heeft 80% van het portefeuillerisico overgenomen van ING toen de bank in zwaar weer raakte door de kredietcrisis. De nominale waarde van de totale portefeuille bedraagt $ 38,7 mrd. ING betaalt de Staat een vergoeding voor het overgenomen risico. De bankverzekeraar heeft vorige week wederom verliezen genomen op de hypotheken door de malaise op de Amerikaanse huizenmarkt.


Volgens minister Bos wijken de gerealiseerde verliezen in de portefeuille niet significant af van waar de minister rekening mee hield toen hij de risico's overnam van ING. Hij wijst erop dat er tegeover de verliezen extra betalingen staan door ING. Die moest de bank doen op last van de Europese Copmmissie omdat de Alt-A transactie wordt gezien als staatssteun.

Eerste of tweede kwartaal gereed

Bos laat ook de gevolgen onderzoeken van recente ontwikkelingen en overheidsinterventies om de Amerikaanse huizenmarkt te reguleren. Het onderzoek is gereed in het eerste of tweede kwartaal van 2010, zo verwacht hij.

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Freddie Mac said it didn't need any additional federal aid for the second straight quarter as it reported a loss of $6.3 billion for the third quarter on Friday.

But the company said it expected to ask for more handouts from the U.S. Treasury in the future as rising unemployment and falling home prices continue to drive higher credit-related losses for both Freddie and its larger rival, Fannie Mae.

Together with Fannie Mae, which said on Thursday it would need a $15 billion capital injection, the tab for the U.S. government's bailout of both mortgage-finance giants has climbed over the past year to $112 billion, making it one of the costliest government interventions ever to stabilize housing and financial markets.

The U.S. Treasury has agreed to provide as much as $200 billion in capital to each company by buying preferred stock that pays 10% dividends. Regulators took control of Fannie and Freddie through a legal process known as conservatorship 14 months ago.

Both companies have posted losses over the past year as they build up reserves to handle rising volumes of bad loans. Freddie posted credit-related losses of $7.6 billion, compared to $22 billion for Fannie.

The third-quarter loss narrowed from a net loss of $25.3 billion in the same period last year.

Freddie's losses came during a quarter in which it filled three top vacancies, all with external hires. The company named new chief executive, financial, and operating officers.

"There's general consensus among us in the industry that there is need for more" housing aid," said Charles "Ed" Haldeman Jr., Freddie's chief executive, during an interview last month. "We're not home free yet."

The biggest losses for both companies have come from riskier subprime and Alt-A mortgages that they bought and guaranteed at the height of the housing boom in 2006 and 2007. Alt-A loans, for example, account for 9% of all loans guaranteed by Fannie, but represented 39% of all third-quarter credit losses.

But defaults are also rising on loans that were previously seen as lower default risks, including mortgages that originally had lower loan-to-value ratios, went to borrowers with higher credit scores, and carried fixed rates. Fannie said those loans were deteriorating at a faster clip, and helped drive the share of loans that were 90 days or more delinquent to 4.72% at the end of September, up from 3.94% at the end of June. Freddie's serious delinquency rate was lower, at 3.33% in September, up from 2.78% at the end of June.

The Obama administration has increasingly relied on both companies to stabilize the housing market. But these stabilization measures could delay their ability to regain profitability.

Fannie and Freddie are steering the administration's effort to modify and refinance hundreds of thousands of at-risk and troubled homeowners, by overseeing the administration's efforts with banks and servicers. Fannie on Thursday said it would record a $7.7 billion loss as a result of its modification efforts, a $5.5 billion increase from the second quarter.

Even once both companies stop hemorrhaging cash, they will have to pay dividends to the U.S. Treasury as part of the stock-purchase agreements, and that could lead the companies to burn through their $200 billion cash cushions. An analysis of future losses by FTN Financial found that Fannie Mae could use up its entire Treasury infusion by 2013.

"If you continue to ask them to modify loans and work with homeowners to keep them in homes past the point that that is seen as helping home prices, then yes, it's possible they'll run out," said Jim Vogel, an analyst at FTN Financial.

Last month, the administration also directed both companies to provide aid to state and local housing finance agencies in an effort to help jumpstart lending activities for low- and moderate-income families.