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Fannie Mae’s Delinquencies Drop, Portfolio Expands with Buybacks

""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com says delinquencies on home loans it guarantees declined again in April, marking the second consecutive month that past dues have fallen. Market[IMAGE]observers say the successive improvements in delinquency numbers at the nation's largest mortgage financier may be the beginnings of a positive trend that will soon spread to the rest of the industry.

According to the GSE's ""monthly summary report"":http://www.fanniemae.com/ir/pdf/monthly/2010/052910.pdf released Tuesday, its single-family serious delinquency rate â€" the tag given to loans at least 90 days past due â€" fell 17 basis

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points in April to 5.30 percent. That follows a drop of 12 basis points in March, which was the first decline for the telling stat in three long years.

Fannie's serious delinquency rate on multifamily mortgages also headed downward in April, falling 1 basis point to 0.78 percent.

The GSE also reported that its mortgage holdings grew for the third straight month, as it continued to buy back loans from investors that were 120 days or more past due. In May, Fannie purchased approximately $49 billion in delinquent loans from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) trusts, which will not be reflected as liquidated from MBS until June 2010.

Fannie Mae's mortgage portfolio grew 16 percent in May to a balance of $813.66 billion. The GSE's total book of business, which includes MBS and other guarantees, dropped 0.2 percent from the previous month to $3.25 trillion.

Fannie also added to its portfolio with $82.46 billion in new mortgage purchase commitments during the month, up 4.2 percent from April.