2006 Proxy Statement
Yes. Proxy cards, ballots, telephone votes, Internet votes and voting tabulations that identify individual stockholders are confidential. Only certain employees who collect the proxy cards and ballots at the annual meeting, or who receive and review telephone and Internet votes, and the inspectors of election who process proxy cards, ballots, telephone votes and Internet votes and count the votes will have access to your proxy card, ballot, telephone vote or Internet vote.
Representatives of Computershare Trust Company, N.A., our transfer agent, will tabulate the votes and act as inspectors of election.
Your shares may be voted on certain types of proposals if they are held in the name of a brokerage firm or nominee, even if you do not provide the brokerage firm or nominee with voting instructions. Brokerage firms and nominees have the authority under New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, rules to vote shares for which their customers do not provide voting instructions on certain "routine" matters. The election of directors and the ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers as our independent auditors for fiscal year 2006 are considered routine matters for which brokerage firms and nominees may vote shares for which they have not received voting instructions. This is called a "broker vote." The stockholder proposal is not considered a routine matter under NYSE rules.
If your broker or nominee does not have discretion to vote your shares held in the name of the brokerage firm or other nominee on a particular proposal because it is not considered to be a routine matter, and you do not give your broker or nominee instructions on how to vote your shares, the votes will be "broker non-votes." We count broker non-votes for quorum purposes, but we do not count broker non-votes (or abstentions) as votes "for" or "against" the proposals to be acted on at the annual meeting.
If you do not vote shares registered in your name, your shares will not be voted.
Proxy cards that are signed and returned but do not contain instructions on how you want your shares voted will be voted:
Yes. If you vote electronically via the Internet, and hold your shares in street name, you may consent to electronic delivery of future Freddie Mac proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports by responding affirmatively to the request for your consent when prompted. See "How do I sign up to receive proxy materials electronically?" below for additional information.
We encourage you to consent to electronic delivery because it will save Freddie Mac a portion of the costs associated with printing and mailing our proxy materials and annual reports. If you consent and Freddie Mac delivers some or all of its future annual meeting materials to you by electronic mail or by posting materials to the Internet, you will not receive paper copies of these materials through the mail unless you request them from Freddie Mac.
If you hold shares in street name, you may submit your consent to electronic delivery at www.freddiemac.com/investors/ar/edelivery.html. Your consent will be effective until you revoke it.
By consenting to electronic delivery, you are stating to Freddie Mac that you currently have access to the Internet and expect to have access in the future. If you do not have access to the Internet, or do not expect to have access in the future, please do not consent to electronic delivery, because Freddie Mac may rely on your consent and not deliver paper copies of future annual meeting materials. In addition, if you consent to electronic delivery, you will be responsible for any Internet charges (e.g., online fees) in connection with the electronic delivery of the proxy materials and annual report.
Abstentions will be treated as shares present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Abstentions do not constitute a vote "for" or "against" any matters and thus will have no effect on the outcome of a vote on a proposal.
Your proxy will still be valid and may be voted at the postponed or adjourned meeting. You will still be able to change or revoke your proxy until it is voted.
Yes. We have adopted a procedure for stockholders whose shares are held in street name called "householding," pursuant to which stockholders of record who have the same address and the same last name and do not participate in electronic delivery of proxy materials will receive only one copy of our Proxy Statement and Annual Report unless one or more of these stockholders notifies us that they wish to continue receiving multiple copies. This procedure provides extra convenience for stockholders and a cost savings for us. Currently, we are not providing householding to stockholders whose shares are registered in their name.
If at any time you no longer wish to participate in householding and would prefer to receive a separate Proxy Statement and Annual Report, or if your shares are held in street name and you are receiving multiple copies of our Proxy Statement and Annual Report and wish to receive only one, please notify your bank, broker, trust or other holder of record. For more information, call or write to Freddie Mac at the contact information provided under "Availability of Annual Report" below.
Stockholders who participate in householding will continue to receive separate proxy cards. Householding will not in any way affect the mailing of dividend checks.