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Ed Rooney for Live With a Net © Publications
May 23, 2005
Freddie Mac President and COO Eugene McQuade told a Lehman Brothers Financial Services
conference in London that many consumers are shifting to intermediate five-year and 10-year
hybrids and away from 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
The big worry was a weaker-than-expected number would send the 10-year Treasury yield
back down toward 4% or possibly lower, which would have led to fears of a pickup in mortgage refinancings.
“Even if market conditions don't end up being as benign as the previous fifty years suggest,
Freddie is very well positioned in our exposure to the U.S. housing market. We start with a
significant amount of homeowner equity supporting our single-family portfolio.”
He closed by putting a lot of the weight on the back of legislators by saying: “To be sure, the
wrong legislative outcome could have an adverse impact on our future financial results and
prospects. But we are hopeful that Congress will strike the right balance here – strengthening
oversight while allowing us to continue serving U.S. homeowners and generating competitive
returns for shareholders.”
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