Fannie Mae May Portfolio Grows At 35.1% Annual Rate

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Fannie Mae (FNM) said its retained mortgage portfolio grew at a compound annual rate of 35.1% in May to $789.634 billion.

The mortgage giant, which is still in government conservatorship, said its portfolio did not grow nearly as much on an absolute basis, rising $50.3 billion, or 6.8% from May 2008. Nonetheless, May's figures represent a dramatic reversal. The mortgage portfolio shrank every other month this year.
Mortgage-back securities issuance more than doubled from April, jumping to $129.1 billion from $56 billion a month earlier. Total issuance of MBS and other guarantees grew at an annual compound growth rate of 38.8%, the highest rate posted in the monthly data all year.

The lender's duration gap, a measure of the portfolio's sensitivity to interest rates, averaged plus one month in March.
The conventional single-family delinquency rose 27 basis points, or hundredths of a percent, to 3.42% in April, the latest month for which data are available.
Multi-family serious delinquency rate rose 2 basis points to 0.36% in April.
The home lender's total book of business rose at an annual compounded rate of 5% in May and 3% year-to-date to a total of $3.15 trillion.