Investor FAQ

  1)  What is the corporation's legal name?
  2)  When was Freddie Mac incorporated?
  3)  Where is Freddie Mac located?
  4)  When did Freddie Mac first become a public company?
  5)  On which exchange is Freddie Mac common stock traded? What is the ticker symbol?
  6)  Is Freddie Mac a government agency?
  7)  Is Freddie Mac regulated?
  8)  How does Freddie Mac differ from Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae?
  9)  What are Freddie Mac's principal businesses?
 10) For how many families has Freddie Mac made housing more affordable?
 11) How much money has Freddie Mac saved homeowners?
 12) Have major changes in interest rates affected Freddie Mac performance?
 13) Does Freddie Mac file quarterly and annual reports with the SEC?
 14) Who is Freddie Mac's auditor?
 15) How can I purchase Freddie Mac common stock?
 16) How often does Freddie Mac pay dividends?
 17) Does Freddie Mac offer dividend reinvestment?
 18) How are Freddie Mac dividends taxed?
 19) Who do I contact regarding change of address, stock dividend payments or lost stock certificates?
 20) When has Freddie Mac's common stock split?
 21) How do I contact Freddie Mac's Investor Relations?
 22) How do I get a Freddie Mac investor pack?

1) What is the corporation's legal name?

Under Freddie Mac’s Congressional charter, the corporation’s official name is Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. However, the Board of Directors has authorized the corporation to conduct business as Freddie Mac.

2) When was Freddie Mac incorporated?

Freddie Mac is a federally chartered corporation created by Congress on July 24, 1970.

3) Where is Freddie Mac located?

The company’s corporate headquarters is located in McLean, VA. Freddie Mac also operates five regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York.

4) When did Freddie Mac first become a public company?

On January 3, 1989, Freddie Mac stock was converted into a class of stock that could be owned and traded by all investors. (Prior to that date, ownership of the stock was limited by its terms to financial institutions and a small number of other parties.) On August 9, 1989, Congress amended Freddie Mac's charter to convert this class of stock into Voting Common Stock, granting its holders the right to elect 13 directors of the Company. The Voting Common Stock and its predecessors have been continuously listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1984.

5) On which exchange is Freddie Mac common stock traded? What is the ticker symbol?

Freddie Mac common stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Pacific Exchange (PCX).

The ticker symbol is FRE.

6) Is Freddie Mac a government agency?

No. Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress as a private company serving a public purpose. While it is sometimes referred to as a “government-sponsored enterprise” or a “corporate instrumentality of the United States,” Freddie Mac is not an agency of the Federal or any state government nor does Freddie Mac receive federal funds. In fact, Freddie Mac is one of the nation’s largest federal taxpayers. Freddie Mac is owned by its shareholders and, like other corporations, is accountable to its shareholders and a Board of Directors. Freddie Mac's enabling legislation provides that the corporation's Board of Directors will consist of 18 persons: 13 directors elected by the stockholders and five directors appointed by the president of the United States. Freddie Mac’s Board of Directors currently consists of 13 members elected at the company's most recent annual meeting of stockholders. Anyone can own Freddie Mac common stock, which is traded under the stock ticker symbol “FRE” on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Exchange.

7) Is Freddie Mac regulated?

Yes. The Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 created a regulatory oversight structure for Freddie Mac divided to address two functions - our housing mission and our safety and soundness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has oversight responsibilities for the housing mission of Freddie Mac. In 1996, HUD set affordable housing goals for Freddie Mac based on income and population diversity. The goals require that a certain percentage of the mortgages we purchase support financing for housing low- and moderate-income families. Effective in 2001, HUD increased the original affordable housing goals for Freddie Mac.

Safety and soundness regulation is vested in the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). Organizationally, OFHEO is located within HUD, but operates independently of the Secretary of HUD as it implements, monitors and enforces capital standards for Freddie Mac. This arrangement is similar to how the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) operates within the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

8) How does Freddie Mac differ from Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae?

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have substantially similar charters, Congressional mandates and regulatory structures. The two companies, however, often pursue different business strategies. Competition between Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ensures that the benefits of the secondary market are passed on to homebuyers and renters in the form of lower housing costs. Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae operate as publicly traded corporations. Ginnie Mae is a wholly-owned government corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Unlike Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae’s guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

9) What are Freddie Mac's principal business activities?

Freddie Mac is in the business of making homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing more available in America. It accomplishes this by helping to keep the cost of mortgage finance as low as an efficient capital market can. Freddie Mac uses the capital market on behalf of housing in two ways: the securitization of mortgages purchased from lenders throughout the U.S. and the subsequent sale of mortgage-backed securities, and the direct investment in mortgages financed through the issuances of corporate debt.

10) For how many families has Freddie Mac made housing more affordable?

Freddie Mac has helped 41 million American families own their own homes or rent decent housing by assuring that lenders have a reliable source of low-cost mortgage money.

11) How much money has Freddie Mac saved homeowners?

Freddie Mac makes sure that mortgage money is widely available at the lowest cost, saving borrowers up to $23 billion a year in mortgage interest payments.

12) Have major changes in interest rates affected Freddie Mac's performance?

Freddie Mac has consistently maintained a low risk profile, as reflected in its Portfolio Market Value Sensitivity (PMVS) and duration gap disclosures, despite significant volatility in interest rates over the past several years.

13) Does Freddie Mac file quarterly and annual reports with the SEC?

Under its Congressional charter, Freddie Mac is exempt from registration filing requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Therefore, the corporation’s quarterly and annual financial reports are not at this time available on the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR). However, the corporation makes available analogous disclosures. These financial disclosures, which include the Information Statement (analogous to the 10K) and quarterly Information Statement Supplements (analogous to the 10Q), are available from the corporation’s Investor Relations Department or on-line here at the Freddie Mac website.

Freddie Mac has committed to registering its common stock with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When this registration process is complete, Freddie Mac will file its period financial disclosure documents with the SEC via the EDGAR system.

14) Who is Freddie Mac’s auditor?

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has been our auditor since March 6, 2002.

15) How can I purchase Freddie Mac common stock?

Shares of Freddie Mac common stock may be purchased through a brokerage firm or by contacting Computershare Investor Services (Computershare), the corporation's stock transfer agent, which offers and administers the DirectSERVICE™ Investment Program. For more information on Computershare's DirectSERVICE™ Investment Program, please visit the Computershare website or call (781) 575-2879.

16) How often does Freddie Mac pay dividends?

Subject to declaration by Freddie Mac's Board of Directors, dividends on the corporation's common stock and preferred stocks are expected to be paid quarterly each year in March, June, September and December. Historical dividends can be found in the Quarterly Summary of Dividends [PDF 18K].

17) Does Freddie Mac offer dividend reinvestment?

Through the Computershare Investment Plan (formerly The DirectSERVICE™ Investment Program) investors can reinvest dividends in full or in part at no cost. Simply complete a Plan Enrollment Form via the Internet by going to www.computershare.com and following the instructions provided.  You can also join by completing and signing an enrollment form and returning it to Computershare.  You may change your dividend option at any time. To read more about the Computershare Investment Plan, please go to www.freddiemac.com/investors/direct.html

18) How are Freddie Mac dividends taxed?

Dividends paid on Freddie Mac's common and preferred stock are eligible for the new reduced federal income tax rates on “qualifying dividends” paid to individuals. These rates are effective for tax years beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2008. However, there are limitations on an individual investor’s ability to use the reduced rates. For example, the reduced rates do not apply if:

• The investor has not satisfied certain holding period requirements;
• The investor elects to treat the dividends as “investment income” for purpose of deducting investment expenses;
• The investor is obligated to make payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property;
• The amounts are payments in lieu of dividends; or
• The amounts constitute employee compensation reported on Form W-2.

Investors should contact their tax advisors to determine whether any limitations apply.

19) Who do I contact regarding change of address, stock dividend payments or lost stock certificates?

Inquiries concerning change of address, account status, dividend payments and lost stock certificates should be directed to Freddie Mac's transfer agent:

Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
Re:  Freddie Mac
P.O. Box 43081
Providence, RI  02940-3081
(781) 575-2879

20) When has Freddie Mac's common stock split?

Freddie Mac has had two common stock splits. The Board of Directors authorized a 3-for-1 stock split effective April 9, 1992 and a 4-for-1 stock split effective January 13, 1997.

21) How do I contact Freddie Mac’s Investor Relations?

If you are a shareholder and you have questions regarding Freddie Mac, please contact our Investor Relations group at (703) 903-3883, by email at shareholder@freddiemac.com, or by mail at 8200 Jones Branch Drive, MS 486, McLean, VA 22102-3110.

If you are an investor in Freddie Mac debt products and you have questions regarding Freddie Mac, please contact our Debt Investor Relations group at (571) 382-3700 or (888) 882-6275, by email at debt_securities@freddiemac.com, or by mail at 1551 Park Run Drive, MS D40, McLean, VA 22102-3110.

If you are an investor in Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities and you have questions regarding Freddie Mac, please call (800) 336-3672 or email investor_inquiry@freddiemac.com.