OFHEO: GSEs Could Buy All New Originations

Reinforcing their position as the cornerstones of the
American housing market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
now have enough capital on hand to purchase all
$2 trillion worth of mortgages that are expected to
be originated this year, their safety-and-soundness
regulator said at the Conference of State Bank Supervisors\'
annual meeting.

While Fannie and Freddie have been slow to purchase
so-called jumbo conforming loans, they are now quickening
their pace, the OFHEO director said. In the first two weeks
of May, their volume in mortgages ranging from $417,000 to
$729,250 was four times what it was in all of April, he reported.
They started out pretty cautiously, Mr. Lockhart said,
but now they are starting to ramp up.