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Building hope in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes, more than 800 Freddie Mac employees joined Habitat for Humanity's America Builds on the National Mall. Fifty-one homes were shipped to waiting families in the Gulf Coast region. |
Freddie Mac brings stability, liquidity and affordability to the nation's housing finance system during good times and tough times. That's our reason for being. And our continuing commitment.
Stability. When a trio of hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast in the fall of 2005, Freddie Mac responded decisively — putting both our balance sheet and our expertise to work. We helped jumpstart home rebuilding and community renewal by providing relief to borrowers, originators and servicers. We also brought stability to the market, using our retained portfolio, by committing to buy up to $1 billion of mortgage revenue bonds issued by state and local housing authorities. With well over half of Freddie Mac's purchases already completed, housing officials are using these low-cost funds to provide affordable housing for thousands of affected families. In these and other ways, we are fulfilling our mission as a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) to protect homeowners, the housing sector and the economy from the shock of unexpected events. And our leadership has been widely recognized by public officials and lenders alike.
Liquidity. Through Freddie Mac's investment and securitization activities, we ensure a ready supply of money for lenders. We excel at tapping global financial markets to support housing in America — and at transferring interest-rate risk from households to these markets, which are much better equipped to handle it. In 2005, we made home possible for millions of families by providing the residential secondary mortgage market with more than $580 billion in liquidity. Our dependable presence in the market lowers rates for consumers of conforming mortgages. And it helps make mortgage-backed securities (MBS) the most widely traded non-sovereign instruments in the world.
Every 10 seconds Freddie Mac makes it possible for another family to own a home.
Affordability. In 2005, Freddie Mac financed homes for more than 4 million borrowers. Our affordable performance was among our strongest on record — with more than 54 percent of the units financed through our mortgage purchases being affordable to low- and moderate-income families. We created new affordable housing opportunities by launching a product line with special benefits for police officers, firefighters, teachers and health care workers who want to live in the communities they serve. And while the Secretary of HUD makes the final determination, thanks in part to our expanding multifamily business, we reported to HUD that we exceeded the 2005 affordable housing goals — the toughest ever set for us by the federal government.
Freddie Mac also maintains a strong philanthropic commitment to America's communities, opening the doors of hope and opportunity to children and their families. Through our Corporate Giving program and the Freddie Mac Foundation, we awarded almost $35 million to nonprofit organizations in 2005. In fact — with our DC-area grants providing almost a fifth of the top 50 companies' combined giving — the Washington Business Journal ranked us first among local corporations in contributions to the community.
Meeting our mission and serving our communities. That's Freddie Mac's continuing commitment.