Freddie Mac Reports $4.6B Profit in Q1

""Freddie Mac's"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ first-quarter earnings came in slightly ahead of last year's final quarter, the company revealed in its quarterly filing.

First-quarter net income at Freddie Mac was $4.6 billion, barely above the $4.5 billion recorded in Q4 2012 but well above the $577 million in last year's first quarter--and the second largest in company history.

First-quarter comprehensive income was $7.0 billion, up from $5.7 billion quarter-over-quarter.

While Fannie Mae hasn't yet released its first-quarter earnings, the company reported ""record profits"":https://themreport.com/articles/fannie-mae-posts-largest-net-income-in-company-history-2013-04-02 in the [COLUMN_BREAK]

fourth quarter (and in 2012 as a whole). The latest reports from both enterprises illustrate how the ongoing recovery has contributed to growth.

Through the end of March, Freddie Mac provided--through purchases and issuances--approximately $138 billion in liquidity to the housing market (with $132 billion going toward single-family purchases and issuances and $6 billion going to the multifamily sector).

According to the filing, refinance loan purchase accounted for about $111 billion of the company's single-family volume during Q1, while purchase mortgages made up the remaining $21 billion. Relief refinance mortgages (including those originated through the Home Affordable Refinance Program) accounted for $33 billion.

Credit quality also continues to improve. As of the end of Q1, loans originated in 2009-2013 made up 5.5 percent of Freddie Mac's credit losses. As expected, loans originated in 2005-2008 made up the vast majority--84.9 percent--of losses.

The single-family serious delinquency rate was 3.03 percent as of March 31, down significantly from 3.25 percent at the end of 2012. The multifamily delinquency rate was 0.16 percent, down slightly from 0.19 percent as of December 31.