Fannie’s Book Shrinks for Sixth Straight Month

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank for the sixth straight month in May as the enterprise's mortgage portfolio continued its decline.

In its monthly volume summary, Fannie revealed its total book of business contracted at a compound rate of 2.4 percent in May, slightly slower than April's negative growth rate of 2.7 percent. Year-to-date, the book has seen an average annualized negative growth rate of 2.3 percent.

As of the end of May, the book's value totaled $3.13 trillion.

New business acquisitions picked up slightly, totaling $30.4 billion for the month.

The company also reported an increase in mortgage portfolio purchases, which came to $13.1 billion, the highest figure so far this year. That increase was offset by sales and liquidations, which were $11.8 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively, bringing the gross portfolio's end balance down to $456.6 billion.

The single-family delinquency rate in Fannie's portfolio fell again, dropping 5 basis points to 2.08 percent. Meanwhile, the multifamily serious delinquency rate seesawed back down to 0.10 percent.

Fannie Mae reported 10,606 loan modifications in May, for a total of 57,971 loan modifications in the year's first five months.