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Freddie Mac Ceases Issuing LIBOR Securities

Freddie Mac has announced that, effective immediately, it will cease issuing LIBOR-indexed floating rate unsecured debt securities that mature beyond the end of 2021.

The company has no outstanding LIBOR-indexed unsecured debt securities, and it has not issued LIBOR-indexed unsecured debt securities that mature beyond the end of 2021. 

Freddie Mac’s decision to cease issuing LIBOR-indexed floating rate unsecured debt securities is a result of the announcement by the Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel member panel banks to make LIBOR submissions after 2021. As a result, market participants should expect LIBOR to be discontinued as a benchmark interest rate, or at least be deemed no longer representative of market interest rates, after 2021.

LIBOR, the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, is nearing its end, and set to expire sometime after 2021, with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR taking its place. In the meantime, lenders and servicers must be prepared, and according to a study from the Urban Insitute, market participants will look to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), for guidance on how to handle the shift from LIBOR to SOFR with minimal disruption to the US mortgage market.

LIBOR's end is likely to impact more than lenders and borrowers. According to Fitch Ratings, U.S. RMBS servicers showed an improved awareness of difficulties and implications tied to the anticipated expiration of LIBOR at the end of 2021.

One challenging issue to resolve in the transition to a new index, Urban notes, is how to address the existing or legacy adjustable-rate mortgages.

“These assets, which are in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities, as well as private-label securities and bank portfolios, generally allow the noteholder to choose a new rate if LIBOR is permanently discontinued,” said Urban.

Jacqueline Doty, Executive, Product Management, Collateral Risk Solutions at CoreLogic, explained that the end of LIBOR will impact $1.2 trillion dollars in adjustable-rate mortgages.

"It means that lenders with loans or lines of credit based on the LIBOR index will need to identify and review the terms of all of their LIBOR loans," said Doty. "A portfolio of loans likely contains a wide variety of terms regarding LIBOR, and this will need to be assessed."

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a Reporter for DS News and MReport. A graduate of Harding University, he has covered numerous topics across the real estate and default servicing industries. Additionally, he has written B2B marketing copy for Dallas-based companies such as AT&T. An East Texas Native, he also works part-time as a photographer.
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