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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 12b-25
NOTIFICATION OF LATE FILING
Commission File Number 000-50231
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(Check One):
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þ Form 10-K
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o Form 20-F
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o Form 11-K
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Form 10-Q
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o Form N-SAR
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o Form N-CSR |
For Period Ended: December 31, 2005
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Transition Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-KSB |
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Transition Report on Form 20-F |
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Transition Report on Form 11-K |
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Transition Report on Form 10-Q and Form 10-QSB |
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Transition Report on Form N-SAR |
For the Transition Period Ended:
Read Attached Instruction Sheet Before Preparing Form. Please Print or Type.
Nothing in this form shall be construed to imply that the Commission has verified any information
contained herein. If the notification relates to a portion of the filing checked above, identify
the Item (s) to which the notification relates: Not Applicable
PART I
REGISTRANT INFORMATION
Full name of registrant: Federal National Mortgage Association
Former name if applicable: Not Applicable
Address of principal executive office (Street and number): 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
City, state and zip code: Washington, D.C. 20016
PART II
RULE 12b-25 (b) AND (c)
If the subject report could not be filed without unreasonable effort or expense and the registrant
seeks relief pursuant to Rule 12b-25(b), the following should be completed. (Check box if
appropriate.)
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(a)
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The reasons described in reasonable detail in Part III of this form could not be eliminated without
unreasonable effort or expense; |
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(b)
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The subject annual report, semi-annual report, transition report on Form 10-K, Form 20-F, Form 11-K,
Form N-SAR or Form N-CSR, or portion thereof, will be filed on or before the fifteenth calendar day
following the prescribed due date; or the subject quarterly report or transition report on Form 10-Q,
or portion thereof, will be filed on or before the fifth calendar day following the prescribed due
date; and |
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(c)
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The accountants statement or other exhibit required by Rule 12b-25(c) has been attached if applicable. |
PART III
NARRATIVE
Fannie Mae (formally, the Federal National Mortgage Association) has determined that it is unable
to file its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 by the March 16, 2006 due date or by
March 31, 2006 and, accordingly, Fannie Mae is not requesting the fifteen-day extension permitted
by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
This notice and the attached explanation discuss the following matters:
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The process and potential timing of our restatement and re-audit; |
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The report delivered by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP on the results of its investigation; |
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Certain New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing standards relating to SEC filings and information about our
continued NYSE listing; |
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Managements assessment of our internal control over financial reporting; |
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Certain accounting matters that may significantly impact our results of operations and financial condition; |
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Certain key business and market issues that have affected the company; |
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Certain of our risks and risk management practices; |
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Investigations of and legal proceedings filed against Fannie Mae relating to accounting and other matters; and |
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Legislative developments to strengthen regulatory oversight of the government sponsored housing enterprises. |
Our restatement and re-audit
We are not able to file a timely Form 10-K because we have not completed our financial
statements for 2005. We have determined that our previously filed interim and audited financial
statements for the periods from January 2001 through the second quarter of 2004 should no longer be
relied upon. Accordingly, we are conducting a restatement of our historical financial statements
for the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002, and for the quarters ended June 30, 2004 and March
31, 2004. More information regarding the matters discussed in this Form 12b-25 may be found in
Forms 8-K we filed with the SEC on March 18, 2005, May 11, 2005, August 9, 2005, November 10, 2005
and February 24, 2006.
In September 2004, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) delivered
to the Board of Directors of Fannie Mae an interim report of its findings, through that date, on
its special examination of Fannie Maes accounting policies and practices. OFHEOs interim report
concluded that we misapplied generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) relating to hedge
accounting and the amortization of purchase premiums and discounts on securities and loans, as well
as other deferred charges. OFHEO subsequently notified us of additional accounting and internal
control issues and questions the agency identified in its ongoing special examination. The
additional issues and questions pertain to the following areas: securities accounting, loan
accounting, consolidations, accounting for commitments, practices to smooth certain income and
expense amounts, journal entry controls, systems limitations, and database modifications, as well
as other issues relating to the amortization of purchase premiums and discounts on securities and
loans, and other deferred charges. On September 27, 2004, we entered into an agreement with OFHEO
to take a series of steps with respect to our accounting, capital, organization and staffing,
compensation, governance and internal controls. On March 7, 2005,
we entered into a supplement to the September 27, 2004 agreement with OFHEO. The September
27, 2004 agreement with OFHEO, as supplemented on March 7, 2005, is referred to in this notice as
the OFHEO agreement. OFHEOs special examination of our accounting policies and practices is
ongoing.
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On December 15, 2004, the SECs Office of the Chief Accountant advised us to restate our
financial statements filed with the SEC to eliminate the use of hedge accounting and to evaluate
our accounting for the amortization of premiums and discounts and restate our financial statements
filed with the SEC if the amounts required for correction were material. The SECs Office of the
Chief Accountant also advised us to reevaluate the GAAP and non-GAAP information that we previously
provided to investors, particularly in view of the decision that hedge accounting is not
appropriate.
Fannie Maes Board of Directors and management are continuing to work to resolve the issues
and questions raised by OFHEO and to implement the actions required by the OFHEO agreement. The
Board assigned a Special Review Committee to review the findings of OFHEOs September 2004 special
examination report and to oversee an independent investigation led by former Senator Warren Rudman
of the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul, Weiss). As described
below, Paul, Weiss issued a report on its investigation on February 23, 2006. The Board also
designated a Compliance Committee of the Board to monitor compliance with the OFHEO agreement.
Fannie Maes management reports to OFHEO on a regular basis regarding the status of our ongoing
internal reviews, the restatement process and our compliance with the OFHEO agreement.
We have made substantial progress in completing a comprehensive review of our accounting
policies and practices in order to determine whether these policies and practices are consistent
with GAAP. This review includes a review of accounting issues
identified by OFHEO and Paul, Weiss, as well as issues identified by our management. More
information about the status of our accounting review is provided below under Status of Accounting Review.
We are working to complete the review and to restate our financial statements. We will then submit our restated financial statements to Deloitte & Touche
LLP, our independent auditor, for completion of its re-audit. Management also continues to review our
accounting routines and controls, and our financial reporting processes. We will continue to
inform OFHEO and Deloitte & Touche of our progress on these matters, including our progress in
completing the restatement, realigning our financial control and audit functions, and overhauling
our financial reporting systems.
Restating our financial statements will require a substantial amount of time and resources
because the restatement entails significant complexities, including:
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a comprehensive review of our accounting practices, which
are often complex because of the nature of policies such as
accounting for derivatives and mortgage purchase and sale
commitments; |
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obtaining or validating market values for a large volume of
transactions, including all of our derivatives, commitments
and securities at multiple points in time over the
restatement period; |
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enhancing or developing new systems to track, value, and
account for securities, commitments and derivatives;
amortize deferred price adjustments; account for our
guarantee obligations; and monitor and assess impairment; |
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restating our financial statements for multiple interim and
annual periods under the standards relevant at various
points in time; and |
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the existence of deficiencies in our accounting controls
during the restatement period that necessitate substantive
audit testing procedures by our independent auditor. |
Based on our current assessment, we believe that completion of our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2004, which will include our restated results, will not occur prior
to the second half of 2006. We are committed to devoting all resources necessary to complete the
restatement as expeditiously as possible. However, because many of the activities are sequential in
nature, acceleration from this timeline is difficult.
Paul, Weiss report
In September 2004, the Special Review Committee of the Board of Directors engaged former
Senator Warren Rudman and the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to conduct
an independent investigation into the issues raised by OFHEO. With the consent of OFHEO and the
Special Review Committee, Paul, Weiss retained Huron Consulting Group Inc., a forensic accounting firm,
to provide assistance in the investigation. The investigation focused
on: accounting issues, including accounting policies, procedures and controls; organization,
structure and governance, including board oversight and management responsibilities and resources;
and executive compensation.
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Paul, Weiss issued a report on the results of its investigation on February 23, 2006. The
report sets forth the following principal conclusions about our accounting practices, internal
controls, and corporate governance and structure prior to 2005:
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managements accounting practices in virtually all of the areas that we reviewed were not
consistent with GAAP, and, in many instances, management was aware of the departures
from GAAP; |
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except for one instance in connection with the 1998 financial statements, we did
not find evidence supporting the conclusion that managements departures from GAAP were
motivated by a desire to maximize bonuses in a given period. We did, however, find evidence amply supporting the conclusion that
managements adoption of certain accounting policies and financial reporting procedures was motivated
by a desire to show stable earnings growth, achieve forecasted earnings, and avoid
income statement volatility;
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employees who occupied critical accounting, financial reporting, and audit
functions at the Company were either unqualified for their positions, did not
understand their roles, or failed to carry out their roles properly; |
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the information that management provided to the Board of Directors with respect to
accounting, financial reporting, and internal audit issues generally was incomplete
and, at times, misleading; |
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the Companys accounting systems were grossly inadequate; and |
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the former CFO, and . . . the former Controller, were primarily responsible for
adopting or implementing accounting practices that departed from GAAP, and . . . they
put undue emphasis on avoiding earnings volatility and meeting EPS targets and growth
expectations. As for the former Chairman and CEO . . . we did not find that he knew
that the Companys accounting practices departed from GAAP in significant ways. We did
find, however, that [the former Chairman and CEO] contributed to a culture that
improperly stressed stable earnings growth and that, as the Chairman and CEO of the Company
from 1999 through 2004, he was ultimately responsible for the failures that occurred on
his watch. |
The Paul,
Weiss report also concluded that no member of management who it
found knowingly participated in improper conduct continues to be an
employee of Fannie Mae. The Paul, Weiss report is available on our
website (www.fanniemae.com) and was included as an exhibit to a
current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2006.
We also have formally submitted the Paul, Weiss report to OFHEO, the
SEC and the Department of Justice for their review, and are committed
to actively cooperating with these authorities as they complete their
reviews of Fannie Mae.
The Paul, Weiss report stated that we and our Board have diligently pursued our
obligations under the OFHEO agreement and that many remedial measures are already
underway. Paul, Weiss stated that many recommendations that it would have
made are already in the process of being implemented. Accordingly, Paul, Weiss stated
that its report documents many of the significant corrective measures that we have taken
but does not make significant additional recommendations.
Since the
receipt of OFHEOs report in September 2004, we have undertaken a number of significant changes, including
the following:
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fulfilling the OFHEO-approved capital restoration plan, including meeting OFHEOs
requirement of a 30 percent capital surplus over our minimum capital requirement; |
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replacing our former outside auditor with Deloitte & Touche and directing Deloitte &
Touche, as our new auditor, to conduct a comprehensive re-audit of our processes, controls,
and accounting policies and methodologies; |
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separating the roles of CEO and Chairman; |
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eliminating two management Board positions and retaining only one management position on the Board; |
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completely reorganizing the Finance function, including the appointment of a new
Controller, a new head of Accounting Policy, and ten other new accounting officers, and the
separation of the Capital Markets group (formerly known as the
Portfolio division) from the CFO function, with the head of the
Capital Markets group no longer reporting to the CFO; |
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reorganizing and strengthening the Internal Audit function, led by a new Chief Audit
Executive with a direct line of reporting to the Boards Audit Committee; |
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establishing an ongoing Compliance Committee of the Board, led by an independent member
of the Board, that is charged with ensuring our fulfillment of all legal and regulatory
obligations, including our agreements with OFHEO; |
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establishing a new and separate compliance, ethics and investigations function, led by a
new Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, William Senhauser, who reports directly to the CEO
and the Boards Compliance Committee; |
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reorganizing our Risk function through the restructuring of the Risk Policy and Capital
Committee of the Board and the establishment of a new Chief Risk Officer position; |
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reorganizing and decentralizing our Law and Policy division
so that each function
Communications, Government and Industry Relations, and Legal, including the new General
Counsel, Beth Wilkinson reports directly and separately to the CEO; |
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establishing regular interactions between the Chairman, the CEO and other members of the
Board and OFHEO, including weekly meetings between management and OFHEO and status
reporting to OFHEO by management; |
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hiring a new senior management team, including President and Chief Executive Officer
Daniel H. Mudd, as well as new Chief Financial Officer Robert T. Blakely, new Controller
David Hisey, and new Chief Audit Executive Jean Hinrichs; and |
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adopting a new executive compensation structure with broader performance goals. |
We are continuing to work to address the issues raised by OFHEO and Paul, Weiss, and to improve our
accounting practices, internal controls, and corporate governance and structure.
NYSE listing and standards for our continued listing
Under its listing standards, the NYSE may initiate suspension and delisting proceedings when a
listed company, such as Fannie Mae, fails to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC in a
timely manner. The NYSE generally will begin suspension and delisting
procedures if a company has not filed its periodic annual report by the end of the
twelve-month period following the due date for the filing. The NYSE, in its sole discretion, may determine to allow a company to continue listing beyond the
twelve-month period in certain very limited circumstances set forth in the NYSEs listing
standards. In determining whether to allow trading in a companys securities to continue, the NYSE
will consider, among other things, a companys financial health and compliance with the NYSEs
qualitative and quantitative listing standards, as well as whether there is a reasonable
expectation that the company will be able to resume timely filings in the future. The NYSE will
advise the SEC of its determination and publish it on the NYSEs website. The NYSEs listing
standards require the NYSE to reevaluate its determination to continue the listing of such a
company once every three months and, if the NYSE reaffirms its decision to allow trading to
continue, to advise the SEC of the reaffirmation and publish it on the NYSEs website.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 was not filed
when due, and we will not be able to file it by the end of the twelve-month period after it
was due (i.e., by March 16, 2006). However, the NYSE notified us via correspondence dated January 19, 2006 that the NYSE had granted our
request for the continued listing of our common stock and other listed securities. Our continued
listing is subject to quarterly reviews by the NYSE, as well as ongoing monitoring of our progress
toward restating our financial statements and filing our periodic reports with the SEC. If the NYSE
does not affirm its decision to allow trading to continue in any quarterly review, our listed
securities would become subject to NYSE trading suspension and delisting proceedings. We are
engaged in regular discussions with the NYSE staff regarding the status of the restatement and our
ability to maintain our listing through completion of the restatement. Until we are current with
our SEC periodic reporting requirements, the NYSE will identify us as a late filer on its website
and will disseminate on the consolidated tape an indicator of our late-filer status.
Managements assessment of internal control over financial reporting; Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section
404
On December 28, 2004, we reported that KPMG LLP, our independent auditor at that time, had
notified us that there existed strong indicators of material weaknesses in our internal control
over financial reporting.
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In accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, our management has been
assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that existed as of
December 31, 2004 and as of December 31, 2005. Management also has been evaluating and implementing
changes in internal control over financial reporting in order to address identified control
deficiencies. To date, we have identified control deficiencies in a number of areas, including:
financial systems and other information technology systems; entity-level controls relating to risk
oversight, staffing and expertise of the internal audit and accounting departments, and
documentation of policies and procedures; design and application of accounting policies; the
valuation of our assets and liabilities; and financial reporting processes. Management expects to
conclude that some of these identified deficiencies are either material weaknesses or significant
deficiencies that in the aggregate constitute material weaknesses. Management also may uncover
additional deficiencies as this assessment process continues. Our management has taken a number of
steps over the past year to address control deficiencies, including completely reorganizing our
finance area and hiring a new Chief Financial Officer, a new Controller, a new Chief Audit
Executive and ten other new accounting officers, reorganizing our risk management and corporate
compliance functions and appointing a new interim Chief Risk Officer and a new Chief Compliance and
Ethics Officer.
Managements report on internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 will conclude that our internal control over financial
reporting was ineffective as of December 31, 2004 due to the presence of material weaknesses. We
expect that managements report on internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 will conclude that our internal control over
financial reporting also was ineffective as of December 31, 2005. Management will discuss in its
reports for 2004 and 2005 identified material weaknesses and will address managements plans for
remediation. We believe that Deloitte & Touche will not be able to issue opinions on the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004 or on
managements process for assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2004, but will be able to issue these opinions in connection with our
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information provided in this notice and the attached explanation includes forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the restatement and re-audit of our financial
statements for prior periods and the timing and impact thereof; the anticipated impact of
certain accounting errors and related matters on our results of operations and financial condition; the anticipated
future performance of our businesses; our expectation that market and economic dynamics may fuel
a shift into fixed-rate mortgages and longer-term ARMs during 2006 and subsequent years; our
expectations regarding future increases in population demographics and job growth; our belief
that rental rates will continue to increase in 2006; our expectations regarding our new business
strategies and initiatives; our belief that our total return strategy will enable us to create
economic value over time; our expectation that continued demand for capital to finance housing
in the United States will provide opportunity to profitably leverage our balance sheet to meet
that demand over time; our expectation that, over the long term, growth in our business will
generally be consistent with growth in the mortgage market; our belief that we will be positioned
to increase our participation in the subprime market without compromising our disciplined
approach to managing credit risk; our expectation that we will continue to increase our capital
surplus; our estimated losses resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; our future approach to
managing credit risk and our portfolio; and our belief regarding
Deloitte & Touches ability to
issue opinions on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
Statements
that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on beliefs and assumptions by Fannie
Maes management, and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any of them
publicly in light of new information or future events. A number of important factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Examples of these factors include, but are not limited to, the timing and nature of the final
resolution of the accounting issues discussed in this notice and the attached explanation and
those raised by OFHEO in the course of its special examination
discussed in this notice; the
outcome of OFHEOs ongoing special examination; the outcome of the investigations being conducted
by the SEC and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of
Columbia; the outcome of pending
litigation; general business, economic and political conditions, including changes in interest rates, housing
prices and employment rates; competitive developments in the mortgage market or changes in the rate
of growth in total outstanding U.S. residential mortgage debt; changes in applicable legislative or
regulatory requirements; our ability to identify and remedy internal control weaknesses and
deficiencies; our ability to effectively implement our business strategies and manage the risks in our business; the other factors discussed in this notice and the
attached explanation; and the
reactions of the marketplace to the foregoing.
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PART IV
OTHER INFORMATION
(1) Name and telephone number of person to contact in regard to this notification
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Scott Lesmes
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752-7000 |
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(Name)
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(Area Code)
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(Telephone Number) |
(2) Have all other periodic reports required under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 or Section 30 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 during the preceding 12 months or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such report(s) been filed? If the
answer is no, identify report(s).
Fannie Mae has not filed the following periodic reports: a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the period ended September 30, 2004; an Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December
31, 2004; and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2005, June 30, 2005
and September 30, 2005.
(3) Is it anticipated that any significant change in results of operations from the corresponding
period for the last fiscal year will be reflected by the earnings statements to be included in the
subject report or portion thereof?
If so: attach an explanation of the anticipated change, both narratively
and quantitatively, and, if appropriate, state the reasons why a
reasonable estimate of the results cannot be made.
Please see attached explanation.
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Federal National Mortgage Association |
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(Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) |
Has caused this notification to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly
authorized.
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Date: March 13, 2006
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By:
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/s/ Robert T. Blakely |
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Name:
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Robert T. Blakely |
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Title:
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Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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Explanation Referred to in Part IV, Item (3) of Form 12b-25
We are required by Part IV, Item (3) of Form 12b-25 to provide as part of this filing an
explanation regarding whether the results of operations we expect to report for the year ended
December 31, 2005 will reflect significant changes from our results of operations for the year
ended December 31, 2004. Because of the restatement and re-audit process described above, we are
unable to provide a reasonable estimate of either our 2005 results of operations or our 2004
results of operations. Accordingly, we cannot at this time estimate what significant changes will
be reflected in our 2005 results of operations compared to our 2004 results of operations.
Presented below is a discussion of certain accounting matters that may significantly impact the
results of operations that we ultimately report for the years ended December 31, 2005 and December
31, 2004, followed by a discussion of certain key business and market issues that have affected us,
disclosures regarding certain of our risks and risk management practices, a description of
investigations of and legal proceedings filed against us relating to accounting and related
matters, and updates on certain regulatory matters.
Accounting Review
Status of Accounting Review
Following the publication of the Paul, Weiss report, we are providing an update on our progress
made to date in completing our accounting review, as well as a description of our approach,
process, issues and next steps with respect to resolving accounting errors that have been
identified. We have been engaged in a thorough and comprehensive review of our accounting policies
and practices in order to determine whether these policies and practices were consistent with GAAP. Our review process includes managements identification
of potential issues, followed by its analysis of and determination on
each issue in conjunction
with our accounting advisors. Each issue and determination is then
discussed with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors,
Deloitte & Touche and OFHEO.
At this time, we have made substantial progress toward completing our accounting review. We
have finished the process of identifying accounting issues for our review, and have made
significant progress in completing our analysis and determination of whether any of the identified
accounting issues result in an error requiring restatement. Although our review of our accounting
policies and practices is not fully complete at this time, we believe it is important to disclose
in this filing the issues that we have now concluded are accounting
errors requiring restatement. We expect to provide an
update on remaining issues following completion of our review and the
discussion of those issues with
the Audit Committee, Deloitte & Touche and OFHEO. Our conclusions are subject to further analysis
in the course of the completion of the restatement and Deloitte & Touches re-audit.
Impact of Accounting Errors on Regulatory Capital
We do not expect to be able to quantify the final financial statement impact of the errors
discussed in this section until we complete our restatement. However, all of these accounting
errors have been reviewed with OFHEO in the course of discussions in connection with our monthly
minimum capital submissions. Pursuant to an agreement with OFHEO, we are required to maintain a 30
percent capital surplus over our minimum capital requirement. We achieved this 30 percent capital
surplus as of September 30, 2005 and expect to continue to increase our capital surplus above this
required amount. Based on our current view of the accounting errors identified below, we believe
we continue to meet our regulatory capital requirements, including the requirement that we maintain
a 30 percent capital surplus over our minimum capital requirement.
Summary of Accounting Errors
Set forth below is a summary description of the accounting errors we have identified to date
pursuant to our accounting review. Each of these accounting errors falls within one of the
following seven principal categories: accounting for derivative instruments; accounting for
investments; accounting for securitization transactions; accounting for guaranty fees; accounting
for the amortization of premiums and discounts; accounting for the allowance for loan losses and
guaranty liabilities; and other accounting errors.
A number of the errors described below have previously been identified in our prior SEC
filings. The Paul, Weiss report that was issued on February 23, 2006 also identified accounting
errors relating to the restatement period, all but one of which (relating to $35.5 million in
payments under a minority lending initiative) already were under review by the company. In
addition, we have self-identified other errors in the course of our review.
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Errors that have been previously disclosed in our SEC filings or that are described in the
Paul, Weiss report relate to the following matters:
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application of the hedge accounting requirements of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133; |
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accounting for mortgage commitments pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 149; |
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classification of securities pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115; |
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processes for assessing certain investment securities for impairment; |
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accounting for wholly-owned Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities pursuant to Statement
of Financial Accounting Standards No. 140 and FASB Interpretation No. 46R; |
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accounting for dollar-roll repurchase transactions; |
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accounting for the impairment of guarantee fee buy-ups; |
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accounting for the amortization of premiums and discounts pursuant to Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 91; |
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accounting for the allowance for loan losses and guaranty liability; |
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accounting for mortgage insurance; |
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accounting for low income housing tax credit and synthetic fuel investments, including tax reserves; |
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certain loan-related accounting matters, specifically the classification of certain loans
held for sale into securitization trusts; |
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calculation of interest expense and interest income; |
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accounting for the amortization of debt premiums, discounts and issuance costs; and |
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accounting for payments made in connection with a minority lending initiative. |
Other issues that we have concluded were errors pursuant to our review process to date relate
to the following matters:
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accounting for certain investment securities at the incorrect cost basis; |
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accounting for certain guaranty fees and obligations in connection with a small portion
of our Fannie Mae MBS trusts; and |
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certain loan-related accounting matters. |
Set forth below is a more detailed discussion of the errors listed above, organized by principal
error category. As a result of this organization, both previously disclosed errors and newly disclosed errors may be
discussed within the same principal category.
Accounting for Derivative Instruments
Hedge Accounting. We misapplied the hedge accounting requirements set forth by
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (SFAS 133), Accounting for Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities, for certain of our hedging relationships, and as a result of
this error, expect to record an estimated net cumulative after-tax loss of approximately $8.4
billion as of December 31, 2004, excluding the impact of mortgage commitments (which are discussed
below). The amount of this estimated loss is subject to change as a result of other accounting
issues under review.
Mortgage Commitments. We have concluded that, upon our adoption of Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 149 (SFAS 149), Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities, we misapplied cash flow hedge accounting criteria for our
mortgage commitments. We estimate that the net cumulative amount of after-tax losses relating to
mortgage commitments deferred in accumulated other comprehensive income, referred to as AOCI, was
approximately $2.4 billion as of December 31, 2004. The amount of this estimated loss is subject to
change as a result of other accounting issues under review.
In addition, prior to the July 1, 2003 effective date of SFAS 149, we did not account for our
commitments to acquire mortgage assets. We have concluded that was in error and, based on
accounting standards applicable at that time, we should have accounted for these commitments prior
to July 1, 2003. Further, we recorded a transition adjustment in connection with our July 1, 2003
adoption of SFAS 149 and our accounting for mortgage commitments. Because most of our mortgage
commitments should have already been accounted for prior to our adoption of SFAS 149, we have
concluded that recording this transition adjustment was not appropriate.
We expect that the impact of the errors set forth above relating to accounting for derivative
instruments will be material to our previously reported results for many, if not all, periods and
will vary substantially from period to period based on the amount and types of derivatives held and
market fluctuations. Our restatements to eliminate hedge accounting will result in the recognition
of derivative gains and losses in the period in which the gains or losses occur. Under hedge
accounting, these gains or losses previously were deferred and would have been recognized in earnings for
future periods.
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Accounting for Investments
Classification of Securities. We purchase mortgage-related securities in the normal
course of our business and, as part of our business strategy, have historically held such
securities to maturity. Based on this intent, we classified our mortgage-related securities as
held-to-maturity pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115 (SFAS 115),
Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities. However, during the restatement
period, we sold certain mortgage-related securities that had been classified in the
held-to-maturity category, thereby violating the requirements of SFAS 115. These sales were the
result of: (i) a misapplication of SFAS 115, which required us to classify a security at the end of
the month of purchase rather than at the purchase date, and
(ii) dollar-roll repurchase transactions that did
not qualify for treatment as financing transactions and therefore should have been accounted for as
sales and purchases of securities. As a result, we must classify in our restated financial
statements all securities previously classified as held-to-maturity as either
available-for-sale or trading, and discontinue use of the held-to-maturity category until two
years after the last misclassified transaction.
We expect to classify the majority of our held-to-maturity securities to the
available-for-sale category. To the extent that securities are classified as available-for-sale,
all unrealized gains and losses for those securities, net of taxes, for each reporting period will
be recorded in stockholders equity as a component of AOCI. AOCI will vary substantially from
period to period as a result of this classification, primarily due to changes in interest rates,
which affect the fair value of debt securities. This classification will not impact our regulatory
capital position, however, because AOCI is excluded from this calculation.
We provide our clients with certain brokerage-related activities related to mortgage-related
securities. As a result of this activity, we also expect to classify a portion of our
held-to-maturity securities as trading securities. To the extent that securities are classified as
trading, gains and losses for each period will be recorded in earnings. The dollar amount that
will be classified as available-for-sale versus trading has not been determined.
Incorrect Cost Basis of Investment Securities. Due to various accounting errors
regarding the recognition of investment securities on the balance sheet, such as the impact on the
cost basis of securities due to the changes in our mortgage securities commitment accounting, we
recorded certain securities at the incorrect cost basis. We are correcting these errors in the
course of the restatement, thereby changing the cost basis of certain securities which, in turn,
will have an impact on unrealized gains and losses recorded on available-for-sale securities,
realized gains and losses on sales of securities, and amortization of premiums and discounts.
Impairment of Investment Securities. We have identified errors in how we assessed the
impairment of investment securities under SFAS 115 and Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 99-20
(EITF Issue 99-20), Recognition of Interest Income and Impairment on Purchased and Retained
Beneficial Interests in Securitized Financial Assets. We did not always appropriately assess our
investment securities for impairment in accordance with the requirements of SFAS 115, including our
investments in manufactured housing bonds and aircraft asset-backed securities, or apply our SFAS
115 impairment policy consistently. While we recorded impairment on certain investment securities
during the restatement period, our process for recognizing and measuring such impairment was not
always appropriate; accordingly, the amount and timing of these impairments likely will be affected
by the restatement.
We also made errors in our application of EITF Issue 99-20. In certain instances, we
combined interest-only and principal-only certificates issued from securitization trusts for
accounting purposes even though those certificates could not be or had not been combined by
contract or law. Combining the certificates for accounting purposes may have had the effect of
avoiding the impairment requirements set forth in EITF Issue 99-20, which typically requires
impairment recognition earlier than SFAS 115. Separating the certificates for accounting purposes
will result in an increase in impairments for the interest-only certificates during the periods
being restated.
Accounting for Securitization Transactions
Accounting for Wholly-Owned Fannie Mae MBS. In the normal course of business, we
purchase Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (Fannie Mae MBS) that we have issued into the
marketplace. It is not uncommon for us to own 100% of a particular Fannie Mae MBS issuance.
Pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 140 (SFAS 140), Accounting for
Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishment of Liabilities, and FASB
Interpretation No. 46 (FIN 46R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an
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Interpretation
of Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB) No.51, revised December 2003, we anticipate having to restate our financial statements to
consolidate specified Fannie Mae MBS trusts for which the company owns 100% of the related
securities. Upon consolidation, the security positions will be reclassified from securities to
loans. In addition, where we were the original transferor of loans to a Fannie Mae MBS, we will
consolidate trusts in which we own 90% or more of the related securities. This consolidation will
also result in the reclassification of security positions from securities to loans and will require
us to record an MBS liability for the portion of the security position that is owned by third
parties. Loans that are consolidated in pools for which we were the original transferor will be
classified as held-for-sale and be marked to the lower of cost or market, whereas loans for which
we were not the transferor will be classified as held-for-investment and be considered in
determining the allowance for loan losses.
Dollar-Roll Repurchase Transactions. We made errors under SFAS 140 in our accounting
for certain dollar-roll repurchase transactions, which are agreements pursuant to which we sell
mortgage-backed securities and agree to repurchase substantially the same securities at a later
date. We historically accounted for these transactions as financings and recognized interest
expense on funds borrowed against the securities. We have determined that certain of these
dollar-roll repurchase transactions did not meet the GAAP criteria for treatment as financings, and
instead should have been accounted for as sales and purchases of the underlying mortgage-backed
securities. Restating our previous financial statements for these errors relating to dollar-roll
repurchase transactions will result in the reduction of previously recognized interest expense
relating to those transactions and the recording of gains and losses on the sales and purchases,
which will increase earnings variability from period to period.
Accounting for Guaranty Fees
Recognition of Guaranty Fees and Obligations. We failed to recognize certain guaranty
fees as retained interests and certain recourse obligations in connection with the Fannie Mae MBS
trusts for which we were the transferor of loans to the trusts. This error relates solely to
portfolio transfers, which represent a small portion of our securitization volume. Correcting this
error will have the effect of increasing the retained interests and recourse obligations recorded
on the balance sheet.
Accounting for the Impairment of Guaranty Fee Buy-Ups. We anticipate recording asset
impairments with respect to certain of the periods being restated relating to our accounting for
certain guaranty assets that result from the buy-up of guaranty fees in connection with certain
Fannie Mae MBS issuances. To facilitate the pooling of mortgages into a Fannie Mae MBS, in certain
transactions the monthly Fannie Mae MBS guaranty fee rate is adjusted for an upfront cash payment
by us to the lender (a buy-up) or an upfront cash receipt from the lender to us (a buy-down)
when the Fannie Mae MBS is formed. These buy-ups or buy-downs adjust our monthly guaranty fee so
that the coupon rates on the Fannie Mae MBS are generally in increments of whole or half a point,
which tend to be more easily traded. When we engage in buy-up transactions, we record separate
guaranty assets in the amount of the buy-up and recognize income over the expected life of the
Fannie Mae MBS. We previously did not periodically assess these buy-ups for impairment as required
by EITF Issue 99-20.
Accounting for the Amortization of Premiums and Discounts
We made errors in our application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 91 (SFAS
91), Accounting for Nonrefundable Fees and Costs Associated with Originating or Acquiring Loans and
Initial Direct Costs of Leases.
SFAS 91 requires a loan or debt security to be amortized in a manner to arrive at a level
yield over the life of that instrument. SFAS 91 provides that cost basis adjustments can be
amortized using a contractual approach or an expected life approach. Our past practice applied the
expected life approach to all of our mortgage loans and mortgage-related assets. We then amortized
those loans and assets over our internal estimate of the expected life of the loan or asset. This
was an error because, in some instances, we did not have a sufficient basis to assert that we could
estimate prepayments on those loans and assets. For loans and assets for which we are unable to
reliably estimate prepayments, this will be corrected for the periods being restated by applying
the contractual method of amortization to those loans and assets.
In instances where it was appropriate for us to utilize the expected life approach, we
utilized internal estimates of prepayments. The internal data that we used for these prepayment
estimates were not sufficiently validated to support its use in this accounting estimate. This
will be corrected for the periods being restated by utilizing
prepayment estimates obtained from
independent sources.
Further,
to appropriately apply the prepayment estimates to loans and mortgage securities, SFAS 91
requires groupings around similar characteristics, such as loan
coupon or year of issuance. Our
past practice did not group loans and debt securities in a manner considered appropriate under SFAS
91. This will be corrected for the periods being restated by using groupings
that comply with the SFAS 91 requirements.
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SFAS
91 requires that a catch up adjustment be recorded in those instances where the
actual and revised estimated prepayments exceed the original estimated prepayments
utilized to amortize the assets. In the past, the manner in which we calculated and
recorded the cumulative catch-up adjustment was inconsistent with the provisions of
SFAS 91. This process resulted in differences between various accounting sub-ledgers
being inappropriately capitalized. These errors will be corrected for the periods being
restated.
Correcting the errors discussed above relating to the amortization of premiums and discounts
will likely affect the timing of our recognition of premiums and discounts on securities and loans,
which in turn will affect our earnings in periods being restated.
Accounting for the Allowance for Loan Losses and Guaranty Liability
Single-Family. We estimate an allowance for loan losses for single-family loans held
for investment in our portfolio and a guaranty liability for loans underlying single-family Fannie
Mae MBS securities that we guarantee. Losses on loans are charged against the allowance for loan
losses, or guaranty liability, when they are resolved through foreclosure, pre-foreclosure sale or
other type of resolution. During the restatement period, we had errors in our process of
estimating the allowance for loan losses and guaranty liability which, on a combined basis,
resulted in an overstatement in those estimates for the restatement period. The errors primarily
relate to the use of inappropriate data to calculate the allowance, such as the loan population
subject to an allowance, and default statistics and loss severity in the event that loans default.
We also incorrectly included certain add-on components to the reserve without adequate support. In
addition, we did not properly allocate the reserve between the on-balance sheet allowance for loan
losses and the guaranty liability. Correcting these errors will have the effect of reducing the
overall estimate of the allowance for loan losses and the guaranty liability, with more of the
proportionate estimate relating to on-balance sheet loans than to loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS.
Multifamily. We overstated our multifamily allowance for losses in certain restatement
periods. The overstatement largely resulted from inappropriate estimates of defaults and loss
severity in the modeled allowance estimate. Correcting this and other errors in the estimation
process will have the effect of reducing the overall estimate of the allowance for loan losses and
the guaranty liability.
Credit Enhancements. We inappropriately included an estimate of credit
enhancement collections in the estimate of the allowance for loan losses. Credit enhancements that
are not attached to a loan should not be included in the overall estimate of loan losses but rather
should be considered either as a derivative or as a gain contingency pursuant to Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 5 (SFAS 5), Accounting for Contingencies. Gain contingencies
can only be recorded if they are realizable, meaning there is no uncertainty regarding collection.
For many credit enhancements, this threshold is only met when cash is received from the insurance
carrier. As a result, the accounting for most credit enhancements that are not attached to the
loan properly occur only when cash is received. The effect of this accounting correction will be
to change the period of recognition of certain credit enhancement claims and to record these
amounts in Other Income rather than as part of the allowance for loan losses.
Other Accounting Errors
Mortgage Insurance Accounting. We previously recognized approximately $210 million,
$240 million and $185 million of insurance premium expense for 2004, 2003 and 2002, respectively.
The vast majority of these premiums related to policies covering mortgage credit losses. Remaining
policies are general forms of corporate insurance, including directors and officers liability
insurance, property and casualty insurance and workers compensation.
We conducted a review of our mortgage insurance arrangements, including to determine whether we had
entered into any finite insurance arrangements. We have determined that one mortgage insurance policy did not transfer sufficient underlying
risk of economic loss to the insurer (referred to as a finite insurance arrangement), and therefore does not qualify as insurance for accounting
purposes. Restating our previously issued financial statements to correct this error generally
will result in our recording the premium paid as a deposit, with recoveries from the policy
reflected as a reduction thereto, and recognizing credit losses with no reduction for any
recoveries resulting from the insurance policy. At the time this insurance policy was originated,
we paid a premium of approximately $35 million to insure the companys losses in an amount equal to
20 percent of the unpaid principal balance of each loan contained within a portfolio of lower
credit quality mortgage loans, up to an aggregate of approximately $39 million for all loans in the
portfolio. This 20 percent coverage was supplemental to standard borrower- or lender-paid mortgage
insurance that was in place for every loan that had an acquisition loan-to-value ratio in excess of
80 percent. Mortgage payments on this portfolio
of loans were current at the time the policy was originated, but there was a high probability
that we would incur at least $39 million in losses on this portfolio. The premium was amortized at
approximately $13.5 million in each of 2002 and 2003 and approximately $8 million in 2004, while
approximately $39 million of payments under the policy were largely received over a three-year
period, principally in 2003 and 2004. We expect that the restatement relating to accounting for
this policy will have no cumulative impact on our results of operations or financial condition as
of December 31, 2005, but will impact reported earnings for certain restated periods.
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Our review for finite
insurance arrangements is complete. We continue to review contractual terms in certain insurance contracts to determine if such
contracts should be accounted for as credit derivatives.
Accounting for LIHTC and Synthetic Fuel Investments. We made errors in the accounting
for our Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investments. We incorrectly accounted for certain
of our LIHTC investments using the effective yield method instead of the equity method of
accounting. Restating the accounting for these investments using the equity method will affect the
timing of recognition of losses for the periods being restated and will result in more variability
from period to period. We also recorded certain of our LIHTC investments on an as funded basis,
rather than at the committed amount, as required by GAAP. Restating these investments at the
committed amount will result in our recording an equal asset and liability for each of these
investments. In addition, we incorrectly expensed interest on certain borrowings used to fund the
construction of qualified real estate investments as the interest expense was incurred, rather than
capitalizing the interest on such borrowings, as required by GAAP. As a result, amounts previously
recorded as interest expense will be added to the carrying value of the investment. The carrying
value will be subject to reduction through partnership losses and, potentially, impairments. We
also have determined that we made certain errors in the calculation of impairment amounts on these
LIHTC investments. Previously reported impairment amounts also will need to be restated as a
result of the impact of the other errors described in this paragraph relating to the carrying value
of our investment.
We made certain similar errors in our accounting for investments in three synthetic fuel
(referred to as synfuel) partnerships established in the 1990s. Given that we have limited
investments in only three of such partnerships, we expect that our restatement relating to synfuel
investments will not have a significant impact on our results of operations or financial condition.
We continue to evaluate the tax reserves for these and other matters to ensure that the
reserve estimates comply with the provisions of SFAS 5.
Loan-Related Accounting Matters. We have determined that we made the following errors
relating to our accounting for loan-related matters:
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Classification of Loans Held for Sale Into Securitization Trusts. We made an error
relating to the classification of certain loans held for sale into securitization trusts.
Our process for identifying loans held for sale did not identify the complete population of
loans that were set aside for sale into securitization trusts due to an error in an
accounting system. This error resulted in loans destined for securitization at a future
date being erroneously classified as held-for-investment rather than held-for-sale. As a
result, we did not record an appropriate adjustment at the lower of cost or market on loans
held for sale during the periods being restated. We are in the process of determining
which loans were held for sale during the restatement period in order to record the correct
adjustment amount. |
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Accounting for REO and Foreclosed Property Expense. We made certain errors related
to our accounting for real estate owned (REO) and foreclosed property expense, including
making inappropriate determinations of the initial cost basis of REO assets at foreclosure
and the amounts charged-off against the allowance for loan losses,
and not expensing costs related to foreclosure activities in the
proper period. These errors will be corrected
for the periods being restated and are expected to change the timing of certain losses and
shift amounts between charge-offs to the allowance for loan
losses and foreclosed property expense. |
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Accounting for Troubled Debt Restructurings. We historically did not recognize
modifications that granted concessions to borrowers as troubled debt restructurings as
required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 15, Accounting by Debtors and
Creditors for Troubled Debt Restructurings, as amended by Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 114, Accounting by Creditors for Impairment of a Loan. This error will be
corrected for the periods being restated resulting in some modifications being recognized as
troubled debt restructurings. |
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Interest Accrual on Seriously Delinquent Loans. We misapplied our policy of placing
seriously delinquent loans on non-accrual status. When payments on loans became more than
three months past due, we placed the loans on non-accrual status, which required us to
cease to accrue payments due under the loans. However, we continued to accrue interest
income on the loans at a reduced amount. We will correct this error for the periods being
restated by ceasing to record any interest that accrues on a loan that is more than three
months past due. In addition, for loans more than three months past due, we reserved a
portion of previously accrued interest and determined the amount of the reserve based on an
estimate of collectibility that was incorrectly determined. We will be correcting this
estimate, and therefore the amount reserved, as part of our restatement. Loans are
returned to accrual status when they are no longer more than three months past due, at
which time previously unrecognized interest is recognized into income. |
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Accounting for Reverse Mortgages. We inappropriately recognized interest income on our
uninsured reverse mortgages, which represents a small portion of our reverse mortgages, by
not considering the expected life of the borrower and house price expectations in the
interest income calculations. This error will be corrected during the restatement and is
expected to result in a changed pattern of interest income recognition on reverse
mortgages. |
Calculation of Interest Expense and Interest Income. For periods during the
restatement, we inappropriately calculated interest expense on debt instruments and interest income
on certain investments. The calculations utilized a convention that recognized the average number
of days of interest in a month (30.4 days) regardless of the actual days in the month. This error
will be corrected as part of the restatement.
Accounting for the Amortization of Debt Premiums, Discounts and Issuance Costs. We
have determined that we inappropriately amortized various discounts and premiums, as well as debt
issuance costs, by amortizing these amounts through the expected call date of our borrowings as
opposed to amortizing these amounts through the contractual maturity date of the borrowings, as
required by GAAP. This error will be corrected as part of our restatement, which will have the
effect of recognizing the amortization of discounts, premiums and debt issuance costs at a slower
rate.
Minority Lending Initiative. We introduced a program in 2002 to increase the flow of
mortgage capital to African-American homeowners. As part of that program, we inappropriately
capitalized a portion of the $35.5 million in payments made as part of an acquisition of a pool of
loans. The payment should have been expensed, as it resulted in the loans being recorded at an
amount in excess of fair value. In addition, the loans were incorrectly classified as
held-for-investment when, in fact, our intent was to sell these loans. The loans should have been
recorded as loans held for sale and marked to the lower of cost or market at each balance sheet
date. Managements intent with respect to these loans changed in the fourth quarter of 2003, at
which time the classification of the loans as loans held-for-investment was appropriate. Certain
of these loans currently remain as part of our loans held for investment.
Key Business and Market Issues
Fannie Mae is a shareholder-owned corporation chartered by the U.S. Congress to increase the
availability and affordability of homeownership in America. In accordance with our charter, we seek
to achieve this mission objective by providing and maintaining liquidity in the secondary mortgage
market. Each of our businesses contributes to this liquidity function, and together serve to
increase the total amount of funds available to finance mortgages for low-, moderate- and
middle-income Americans.
Our businesses are significantly affected by the dynamics of our underlying marketthe
secondary market for residential mortgage debt outstanding. These dynamics include the total amount
of mortgage debt outstanding, the volume and composition of mortgage originations and the level of
competition for mortgage assets among investors. Generally, the level of competition in our market
has intensified in recent years and remained extremely competitive
throughout 2005. Over the long term, we expect that growth in our business will generally be
consistent with growth in the mortgage market.
On November 10, 2005,
we announced that our Board of Directors had appointed Robert Levin to
the position of Chief Business Officer. In this new role, Mr. Levin has responsibility for the
oversight of our three primary businesses and the integration of our business activities to support
cross-functional initiatives focused on creating value at the enterprise level. Reporting to Mr.
Levin are Thomas Lund, Executive Vice President and head of our Single-family business, Peter
Niculescu, Executive Vice President and head of our Capital Markets group (formerly known as the Portfolio division), and Kenneth
Bacon, Executive Vice President and head of Housing and Community Development, which includes our
Multifamily business. Also reporting to Mr. Levin is Michael Quinn,
Senior Vice President, Mortgage-Backed Securities.
The following discussion highlights recent developments in our primary businesses and the
markets in which they operate.
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Credit Guaranty Business
Single-family
In our Single-family Credit Guaranty (Single-family) business we issue Fannie Mae
mortgage-backed securities (Fannie Mae MBS) in exchange for pools of loans delivered to us by
lenders. We guaranty the timely payment of principal and interest on Fannie Mae MBS, for which we
are paid a guaranty fee. This activity supports our mission objectives by enabling primary lenders
to redeploy capital to fund additional mortgage loans by selling highly-liquid Fannie Mae MBS in
the secondary market.
Our total issuance of single-family Fannie Mae MBS declined to $500.7 billion in 2005 compared
with $545.4 billion in 2004. Consistent with our long-term approach, the volume of Fannie Mae MBS
issued by our Single-family business in 2005 reflected our assessment of the credit risk and
pricing dynamics of mortgage assets available for guaranty. Originations of lower credit quality
loans, loans with reduced documentation, and loans to fund investor properties (where the owner is
not the primary resident) remained substantially higher in 2005 than historical norms.
Private-label issuerscompanies other than agency issuers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie
Maecontinued to be a significant source of financing for these mortgages. As in 2004,
private-label issuers continued to be a major source of financing for Alt-A and subprime
loans. Alt-A and subprime securities represented over 65 percent
of private-label single-family mortgage-related securities
issued in 2005. Although there is no uniform definition for subprime and Alt-A loans across the
mortgage industry, Alt-A loans typically have slightly lower credit quality or less thorough
documentation than prime loans; subprime loans typically have markedly lower credit quality. While
we view many non-traditional loans as effective financial tools for
certain borrowers, we will continue to evaluate the extent to which the pricing for these loans provides
sufficient compensation for the levels of layered risk found in these loans. We
have generally limited our participation in this
market to transactions in which we believe we are adequately compensated for the additional risk.
Over the past two years, we have maintained a disciplined approach to our participation in the
single-family mortgage market, focused on ensuring that the level and nature of our participation
was aligned with our risk disciplines. We concluded that pricing dynamics for a significant
portion of originations driving the growth of private-label issuance did not appropriately reflect
underlying, and often layered, credit risks. Because of this assessment, we made a strategic
decision to forgo the guaranty of a significant proportion of mortgage loans because they did not
meet our risk and pricing criteria. As a result of this decision, we ceded significant market share
of single-family mortgage-related securities issuance to private-label issuers. Our
estimated overall market share of new
mortgage-related securities issuance declined to
23.5 percent in 2005 compared with 29.2 percent in
2004 and 45.0 percent in 2003. During this period, the estimated private-label share of new mortgage-related
securities issuance increased from 20.6 percent in 2003 to 44.4 percent and 53.9 percent in 2004
and 2005, respectively. Our estimates of market share are based on
publicly available data and exclude previously securitized mortgages.
We have been the largest agency issuer of mortgage-related securities in every year since
1990. This has contributed to our leadership position in the overall market for outstanding
mortgage-related securities. The higher volume of tradable Fannie Mae MBS in the secondary market
has generally enhanced the liquidity of our MBS compared to mortgage-related securities issued by
other market participants. As a result of our advantage in tradable liquidity, our MBS continued to
trade at a premium in 2005 to comparable securities issued by other market participants.
The proportion of adjustable-rate assets acquired or guaranteed by Fannie Mae has increased
substantially over the past several years, reflecting changes in the composition of single-family
mortgage originations. For the year ended December 31, 2005, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) represented an estimated 21
percent of our conventional single-family mortgage acquisitions. We estimate that ARMs represented
only 13 percent of our conventional single-family mortgage credit book of business at December 31,
2005. Similarly, while negative-amortizing and interest-only
ARMs represented an increased
proportion of new business in 20053 percent and 9 percent, respectivelywe estimate that these
products together represented only approximately 5 percent of our conventional single-family
mortgage credit book of business at December 31, 2005. These estimates are based on conventional
single-family mortgage loans (consisting of single-family loans held in our portfolio, underlying
Fannie Mae MBS held in our portfolio and held by others, and
underlying certain whole loan REMICs) for which we
have loan-level data, excluding reverse mortgages. We do not have loan-level data for all of the single-family credit risk
exposure attributable to purchases by our Capital Markets group, such as Freddie Mac
securities, Ginnie Mae securities, private-label securities and housing revenue bonds. These
products for which we do not have loan-level data represent an estimated 8 percent of our total
conventional single-family mortgage credit book of business as of December 31, 2005, and an estimated 11 percent
of our conventional single-family mortgage acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2005. We expect the
inclusion of these products in our estimates would impact the percentages set forth in this paragraph.
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The ARM share of conventional single-family mortgage applications has declined from a peak of
almost 35 percent in April 2005 to just under 30 percent in January 2006. However, we believe the current
proportion of ARM originations still exceeds what should be indicated by the difference between
short- and long-term mortgage rates. We believe that this dynamic reflects consumers continued use
of ARM products to gain even marginally lower initial mortgage payments in the face of rapid home
price appreciation in many areas. We anticipate that the flattening of the yield curve, slower or
flat appreciation in home prices, and the payment shock that certain consumers will experience from
the reset of many ARMs to higher rates may fuel a shift into fixed-rate mortgages and
longer-term ARMs during 2006 and subsequent years.
We believe that our assessment and approach to the management of credit risk in 2005
contributed to the maintenance of a credit book of business with strong credit risk
characteristics. The weighted average original loan-to-value ratio and the weighted average
estimated mark-to-market loan-to-value ratio for our conventional single-family mortgage credit
book of business were 70 percent and 53 percent, respectively, at December 31, 2005. The weighted
average credit score for our conventional single-family mortgage credit book of business was 721 at
December 31, 2005. As noted above, we do not have loan-level data for an estimated 8 percent of our
total single-family mortgage credit book of business as of December 31, 2005. We expect the
inclusion of these products in our estimates would impact the averages set forth in this paragraph.
Additionally, our single-family delinquency measures remained low throughout 2005. The
thirteen basis point increase in single-family delinquency rate we reported in November 2005to
0.77 percent of single-family conventional loans outstandingwas almost entirely attributable to
delinquencies on loans in the FEMA-designated 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane disaster area. We previously reported that our estimate for after-tax
losses associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita would be in a range of $250 million to $550
million, which includes both single-family and multifamily properties. Based on that estimate, we
recorded a $257 million after-tax charge for the quarter ended September 30, 2005. As a result of
our ongoing assessment of the potential impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including our
ongoing loss mitigation and investment activities, we have adjusted our estimated after-tax losses
to a range of $250 million to $400 million. Further adjustments to this estimate are possible as we
continue to monitor this issue.
We have remained focused on the achievement of our regulatory and corporate mission
objectives. Meeting the newly-established home purchase sub-goals defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD), our mission regulator, was especially challenging in 2005 largely due to the same market and
economic conditions that have driven increases in private-label
market share. On February 13, 2006,
we indicated that, while we were still in the process of finalizing
the data for 2005, our preliminary
analysis indicated that we met the three base HUD goals, in addition to the home purchase special
affordable sub-goal, and the multifamily special affordable sub-goal for 2005. We also indicated
that our preliminary analysis showed that we fell slightly short of meeting the other two home
purchase sub-goals for low- and moderate-income and underserved areas. Our analysis, which was
based on preliminary data involving the examination of over one
million loans, could be subject to
change. We will submit final data for HUDs review in March 2006, and HUD will make the final
determination regarding our achievement of our 2005 housing goals.
Most
of HUDs housing goals and home purchase sub-goals increase to higher levels in 2006 and therefore we expect that meeting
these goals will continue to present challenges. As previously
disclosed, in order to meet our housing goals, we may elect to
enter into transactions with economic terms that are less favorable than other available
transactions or we may offer other incentives to obtain business that contributes to our housing
goals performance. We also may increase our investments in higher-risk mortgage products that are more likely
to serve the borrowers targeted by HUDs goals and sub-goals, but that could increase our credit losses.
We continually evaluate opportunities for the Single-family business to enhance our ability to
support our mission objectives and add potential revenue sources by expanding into areas of our
market where we have little or no presence currently. We believe that the following initiatives
represent the most significant opportunities for our Single-family business to achieve these
objectives in the near- to intermediate-term:
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First, we are building out the capabilities needed to structure mortgage-related
securities in ways that would enable us to share risk with other investors who may have a
different view of risk/pricing dynamics than our own. |
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Second, we are working to increase the level of our involvement in the subprime market,
which has been dominated by private-label competitors in recent years. We believe that the
enhanced risk sharing capabilities noted above will position us to increase our participation in this segment of the market
without compromising our disciplined approach to managing credit risk. |
-16-
Multifamily
Fannie
Mae is one of the most active participants in the multifamily
mortgage market. As of December 31, 2005, we estimate that we held or guaranteed approximately 18
percent of multifamily mortgage debt outstanding
(including mortgage-related securities). Our
Multifamily business provides financing for affordable and market-rate rental housing on a
nationwide basis and through a full range of economic conditions, thereby supporting both
accessibility to financing and the liquidity of multifamily mortgage debt. Through our lender and
housing partners, our Multifamily business participated in financing $25.6 billion in multifamily
rental housing in 2005, the second highest annual investment total in company history.
Due in large part to the nations steadily expanding economy, multifamily real estate
fundamentals improved during 2005. Two key drivers for improvement in multifamily fundamentals
were changing demographics and job growth. The 20- to 34-year old segment of the population is
reaching the prime apartment-renting stage and is anticipated to total approximately 64 million by
2010 compared with approximately 61 million at year-end 2005. Additionally, job growth remained
solid throughout 2005, with approximately 2 million new jobs created in the United States. We
currently anticipate that approximately 2 million additional new jobs will be created in 2006.
These factors contributed to a decline in overall apartment vacancies and an increase in
average monthly rental rates in 2005. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, multifamily vacancies
averaged 9.5 percent for the fourth quarter 2005, compared to
11.3 percent for the fourth quarter
of 2004. Vacancies for institutional-type properties on a national
level also decreased, with
estimated vacancies averaging 6.1 percent for the fourth quarter
2005, down from an estimated 7.2
percent for the fourth quarter 2004.
Rental rates also increased during 2005. Estimated monthly rental rates for
institutional-type properties on a national level were $970 on average for the fourth quarter 2005, reflecting a 2
percent increase over fourth quarter 2004s estimated $950 average monthly rental rate. We believe
that this trend is likely to continue into 2006.
We believe that our adherence to disciplined credit standards continues to be reflected in our
delinquency statistics, which remain within a low range, notwithstanding the increase in
delinquency rates in October 2005 due almost entirely to new delinquencies in the
FEMA-designated 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane disaster areas. Our multifamily delinquency rate was
0.27 percent at December 31, 2005 compared with 0.10 percent at December 31, 2004.
Capital
Markets Group
Our Capital Markets group supports our primary liquidity function by purchasing and
selling mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities through a full range of economic and
competitive environments. This function includes purchasing Fannie Mae MBS, which has contributed
to the pricing stability evidenced in our MBS over time. By issuing debt to both domestic and
international investors to fund our mortgage purchases, our Capital Markets group also
helps to maintain a diversified funding base and to expand the total amount of capital available to
finance housing in the United States. Additionally, our Capital Markets group supports innovation in housing
finance by purchasing newly developed mortgage products that do not have track records for credit
performance and pricing, which generally makes these products more marketable to other investors.
Our portfolio activities in 2005 were conducted within the context of our capital restoration
plan, which was finalized with OFHEO in February 2005. The capital restoration plan defined the
management of total balance sheet size by reducing the portfolio principally through normal
mortgage liquidations as one of two key elements that will contribute to the achievement of our
capital goal. The plan also provided that, as a contingency measure to provide additional capital,
we would also consider reducing our mortgage portfolio balances through asset sales. OFHEO
announced on November 1, 2005 that Fannie Mae had achieved a 30 percent surplus over minimum
capital at September 30, 2005. However, our requirement to maintain a 30 percent capital surplus
will remain in effect at OFHEOs discretion, and will not be automatically rescinded as a result of
our achieving our capital plan requirements.
In this discussion of our portfolio activities in 2005, each of the amounts provided for our
portfolio purchases, liquidations and sales in 2004 and 2005, as well as our total debt outstanding
in 2004 and 2005, represents the unpaid principal balance, excluding the effect of currency
adjustments, debt basis adjustments and amortization of premiums,
discounts, and issuance costs.
-17-
As a result of the reclassification of a majority of our portfolio assets from
held-to-maturity to available-for-sale, we were provided more flexibility to consider asset
sales both to contribute to our capital plan objectives and to generate economic value when supply
and demand dynamics in our market resulted in attractive pricing for certain assets in our
portfolio. Generally in 2005, competition for mortgage assets significantly increased the number
of economically attractive opportunities to sell certain mortgage assets from our portfolio,
particularly traditional 15-year and 30-year mortgage-related securities, in addition to Real
Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (REMICs) that were structured from 15-year and 30-year Fannie
Mae MBS held in our portfolio. As a result of these factors, we recorded a notable increase in
sales from our portfolio, to $113.3 billion in 2005 from $16.4 billion in 2004. Our assessment of
the economic attractiveness of portfolio sales in 2005 was aligned with our need to lower portfolio
balances to achieve our capital plan objectives. Sales of selected assets from our portfolio
contributed to both the enhancement of economic value and the achievement of our capital plan
objectives. Portfolio balances were also affected by liquidations of $211.4 billion in 2005
compared with $240.2 billion in 2004. Additionally, portfolio purchases were substantially lower in
2005 compared with 2004, due to both our assessment of pricing dynamics for traditional fixed-rate
products and our focus on managing balance sheet size to achieve our capital plan objectives.
Portfolio purchases in 2005 totaled $146.6 billion in 2005 compared with $262.6 billion in 2004,
and included a much lower proportion of 30-year fixed-rate assets than historical norms. The net
impact of our liquidations, purchases and sales in 2005 was a 19.6 percent decline in our portfolio
balances, to $727.2 billion at December 31, 2005 from $904.6 billion at December 31, 2004.
Lower portfolio balances have the effect of reducing the net interest income generated by our
portfolio. We believe, however, that our total return strategy described below will enable us to
create economic value over time through our selected purchases and sales of portfolio assets and
liabilities.
Total debt outstanding was $766.2 billion at December 31, 2005 compared with $955.0 billion at
December 31, 2004. On a monthly average basis,
February 2006 spreads on a swapped to LIBOR basis for all
maturities of our Benchmark Notes improved relative to February 2005 levels, with considerable
improvement in 5- and 10-year Benchmark Notes. We believe that our lower level of debt issuance
compared with recent years had a positive effect on the pricing levels due to the diminished
overall supply of Fannie Mae debt in the primary and secondary markets. Equally important, we have
experienced continued strong demand characterized by consistently large purchases by domestic
institutional investors coupled with notable increases in foreign investor purchases of our debt
securities, particularly among Asian investors. Asian investors
represented 31 percent of our Benchmark Notes new
issue primary distribution in 2005, compared with approximately 26 percent in 2004.
As our portfolio balances declined and spreads on long-term debt improved, we
significantly reduced the amount of our short-term debt outstanding. During 2005, we
reduced our total short-term debt outstanding by 46.1 percent, from $320.3 billion at
December 31, 2004 to $172.5 billion at December 31, 2005, compared to a decrease of 6.5
percent in our total long-term debt outstanding, from $634.7 billion at December 31, 2004 to
$593.7 billion at December 31, 2005.
The total notional value of outstanding derivative instruments used to hedge interest rate
risk in our portfolio declined to $644.2 billion at December 31, 2005 compared with $688.8 billion
at December 31, 2004. The key driver of this decline was the termination of hedges related to
assets sold from our portfolio.
We have maintained our disciplined approach to managing interest rate risk in our portfolio.
We believe the general effectiveness of our risk management strategies is reflected in our
portfolios monthly average duration gap, a principal measure of interest rate risk. During 2005,
our average monthly duration gap did not exceed plus or minus one month. In our Form 10-Q for the
second quarter of 2003, we disclosed our objective of maintaining our duration gap within a range
of plus or minus 6 months substantially all of the time.
Our strategies for the Capital Markets group focus on fulfilling our chartered liquidity function while
seeking to maximize long-term total returns, subject to our risk constraints.
This approach is an enhancement to our prior strategy, which focused primarily on buying mortgage assets when
anticipated returns met or exceeded our hurdle rates, and generally holding those assets to
maturity. Our current total return strategy is consistent with our chartered liquidity function.
When demand for mortgage assets is high, and spreads are narrow, we will look for opportunities to
add liquidity to the market largely through the sale of mortgage assets from our portfolio. When
demand for mortgage assets is low, and spreads are wide, we will look for opportunities to add
liquidity to the market largely by purchasing mortgage assets and selling debt to investors to fund
those purchases. Consequently, our portfolio may grow or decline based upon the specific market
dynamics during a given period, and management will not view portfolio growth per se as a primary
measure of success for the Capital Markets group. However, we do anticipate that the
continued demand for capital to finance housing in the United States will provide opportunity to
profitably leverage our balance sheet to meet that demand over time.
Quarterly Break-Out of Single-family and Multifamily Portfolio Purchases
As noted in our
October 2005 Monthly Summary, we are providing a break-out of
single-family and multifamily assets that we purchased on a quarterly rather than a
monthly basis. The table below sets forth our purchases of single-family and multifamily mortgage
loans and securities for each quarter of 2005, as well as the full year 2005:
-18-
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Mortgage Portfolio Purchases |
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Single-family |
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Multifamily |
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Total |
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|
(Dollars in millions) |
|
First Quarter 2005 |
|
$ |
28,834 |
|
|
$ |
2,912 |
|
|
$ |
31,746 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Quarter 2005 |
|
|
26,062 |
|
|
|
2,965 |
|
|
|
29,027 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Third Quarter 2005 |
|
|
26,590 |
|
|
|
4,360 |
|
|
|
30,950 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth Quarter 2005 |
|
|
50,868 |
|
|
|
4,049 |
|
|
|
54,917 |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Total |
|
$ |
132,354 |
|
|
$ |
14,286 |
|
|
$ |
146,640 |
|
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Administrative Expenses
Administrative expenses totaled an estimated $668 million for the fourth quarter of 2005 and
an estimated $2.182 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005, compared to an estimated $361
million for the fourth quarter of 2004 and an estimated $1.511 billion for the year ended December
31, 2004. Costs associated with the restatement process and related regulatory examinations,
investigations and litigation significantly increased administrative expenses for the year ended
December 31, 2005. These costs totaled approximately $253 million for the fourth quarter of 2005
and approximately $569 million for the year ended December 31, 2005. We anticipate that these
restatement-related costs will continue to have a substantial impact on administrative expenses
until the restatement is completed.
Disclosures Regarding Certain Risks and Risk Management Practices
Pursuant to a September 1, 2005 agreement with OFHEO, we are providing the following periodic
disclosures regarding risks and risk management practices.
Subordinated Debt
We have committed to issue subordinated debt in a quantity such that the sum of total capital
(core capital plus general allowance for losses) plus the outstanding balance of qualifying
subordinated debt will equal or exceed the sum of outstanding Fannie Mae MBS times 0.45 percent and
total on-balance sheet assets times 4 percent. Subordinated debt will be discounted for the
purposes of this calculation during the last five years before maturity in the following manner:
one-fifth of the outstanding amount is excluded each year during the instruments last five years
before maturity. When remaining maturity is less than one year, the instrument is entirely
excluded. We have determined that, as of December 31, 2005, our outstanding subordinated debt plus
total capital exceeded the sum of 0.45 percent of outstanding Fannie Mae MBS plus 4 percent of
total on-balance sheet assets. Our determination that we are in compliance with our subordinated
debt commitment reflects our current assessment of accounting issues we are reviewing and their
estimated financial impact.
Liquidity Management
We have made a commitment to maintain a functional contingency plan providing for at least
three months of liquidity without relying upon the issuance of unsecured debt, and to periodically
test the contingency plan in consultation with our OFHEO Examiner-in-Charge. As of December 31,
2005, we were in compliance with our commitment to maintain and test our contingency plan.
-19-
Interest Rate Risk
Pursuant to a September 1, 2005 agreement with OFHEO, we agreed to provide periodic public
disclosures regarding the monthly averages of our duration gap. We disclose the duration gap on a
monthly basis in our Monthly Summary
Report, which is available on our website and filed with the SEC in a current report on Form
8-K. (See, e.g., the Form 8-K Fannie Mae filed with the SEC on January 31, 2006.) The duration gap
on our portfolio averaged zero months in December 2005 and January 2006.
We also agreed to provide public disclosure regarding the impact on our financial condition of
both a 50-basis point shift in rates and a 25-basis point change in the slope of the yield curve.
We will begin providing this disclosure once we have current financial statements.
Credit Risk
Pursuant to a September 1, 2005 agreement with OFHEO, we agreed to provide quarterly
assessments of the impact on our expected credit losses from an immediate 5 percent decline in
single-family home prices for the entire United States.
The estimated sensitivity of our expected future credit losses to an immediate 5 percent
decline in home values for single-family mortgages at September 30, 2005 (the most recent date for which data are
available), prior to the receipt of private mortgage insurance claims or any other credit
enhancements, was $1.931 billion, or approximately 0.10 percent of our single-family mortgage credit
book of business, compared with approximately 0.11 percent at September 30, 2004.
After receipt of mortgage insurance and other credit enhancements, the estimated
sensitivity of our expected future credit losses to an immediate 5 percent decline in home values
for single-family mortgages at September 30, 2005, was
$890 million, or approximately 0.04 percent of our single-family
mortgage credit book of business, compared with approximately 0.05 percent at September 30, 2004.
The estimates in the preceding paragraphs are based on conventional single-family
mortgage loans (consisting of single-family loans held in our portfolio, underlying Fannie Mae MBS
held in our portfolio and held by others, and underlying certain whole loan REMICs) and certain government mortgage-related
securities for which we have loan-level data. These estimates exclude mortgages and
mortgage-related securities held in our portfolio for which we do not have complete loan-level
data (such as Freddie Mac securities, Ginnie Mae securities, private-label securities, housing
revenue bonds), mortgages secured only by second liens, and reverse mortgages.
Risk Ratings
We agreed to seek to obtain a rating, which will be continuously monitored by at least one
nationally recognized statistical rating organization, that assesses, among other things, the
independent financial strength or risk to the government rating of Fannie Mae operating under its
authorizing legislation but without assuming a cash infusion or extraordinary support of the
government in the event of a financial crisis. We also agreed to provide periodic public
disclosure of this rating.
Standard & Poors current risk to the government rating for Fannie Mae is AA- and on
CreditWatch Negative. Standard & Poors continually monitors this rating. The rating has remained
on CreditWatch Negative since September 23, 2004.
Moodys Investors Services current Bank Financial Strength Rating for Fannie Mae is B+ with
a stable outlook. Moodys Investors Service continually monitors this rating.
Investigations and Legal Proceedings
As noted above, OFHEOs special examination of our accounting policies and practices is
ongoing. The SEC and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia also continue
to investigate these matters.
A number of lawsuits have been filed against Fannie Mae and certain of our current and former
officers and directors relating to the accounting matters discussed in OFHEOs interim report and
in our Form 12b-25 filed on November 10, 2005. These suits are currently pending in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia and fall within three primary categories: a
consolidated shareholder class action and related opt-out lawsuits, a
consolidated shareholder derivative
lawsuit and an ERISA-based class action lawsuit.
The consolidated shareholder class action and two related opt-out lawsuits generally
allege that the company and certain former officers made false and misleading
statements in violation of the federal securities laws in connection with certain
accounting policies and practices. In addition, the opt-out lawsuits also assert insider
trading, state securities law, and common law claims against the company and certain
of our current and former officers and directors based upon essentially the same
alleged conduct. Discovery has recently commenced in the consolidated shareholder
class action following the denial of the defendants motion to dismiss. The opt-out
cases were recently filed by institutional investors seeking to proceed independently
of the putative class of shareholders in the consolidated shareholder class action. The
court has consolidated the opt-out cases as part of the consolidated shareholder class
action, but the opt-out plaintiffs have filed motions objecting to the consolidation of
the lawsuits.
The
consolidated shareholder derivative lawsuit asserts claims purportedly on behalf
of Fannie Mae against certain of our current and former officers and directors.
Generally, the complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to
Fannie Mae and that the company was harmed as a result. The
companys and the
other defendants motions to dismiss the consolidated shareholder derivative lawsuit
are pending.
-20-
The ERISA-based class action lawsuit alleges that Fannie Mae and certain of our current and
former officers and directors violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The
plaintiffs in the ERISA-based lawsuit purport to represent a class of participants in Fannie Maes
Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Their claims are also based on alleged breaches of fiduciary duty
based on the accounting matters discussed in OFHEOs interim report. A motion to dismiss this
lawsuit is pending.
Legislative Developments
The U.S. Congress is considering legislation to strengthen regulatory oversight of the
government sponsored housing enterprises. We support these efforts as part of restoring the
markets trust and confidence in Fannie Mae, which, in turn, is critical to our ability to fulfill
our mission of raising capital to finance residential housing.
The House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Committee have both advanced GSE regulatory oversight legislation during the first session of 109th
Congress last year. The separate House and Senate bills address key elements of the GSEs business
and regulation including regulatory structure, capital standards, receivership, scope of GSE
activities, affordable housing goals, portfolio composition and size, and expanded regulatory
oversight over GSE directors, officers, employees and certain
affiliated parties. The House bill also provides for a fund to support
affordable housing to be funded by a specified percentage of our profits. On October 26, 2005, the
House of Representatives passed H.R. 1461, the bill reported by the House Financial Services
Committee, by a vote of 331-90.
The enactment into law of the various legislative provisions under consideration, depending on
their final terms and on how they were applied by our regulator within the scope of its authority,
could have a material adverse effect on future earnings, shareholder returns, ability to fulfill
our mission, and ability to recruit and retain qualified officers and directors. It is also
possible that in the legislative process provisions that go beyond the elements described above and
that further alter Fannie Maes charter and ability to fulfill its affordable housing mission could
be enacted.
We cannot predict the prospects for the enactment, timing or content of any legislation or its
impact on our financial prospects.
-21-