The Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program jumped into second gear in July as Fannie Mae purchased 16,000 HARP refinancings in a single month.
July purchases matched the total number of HARP loans the mortgage giant acquired during the whole second quarter.
Fannie noted in its second quarter securities filing that lenders have been ramping up for the HARP program that allows homeowners with loan-to-value ratios of 80% to 125% to refinance their mortgages.
But the number of refinancings completed was limited due to capacity. "As a result, we expect an increase in refinancings under this program in the third quarter... as second quarter applications are closed and delivered," Fannie said.
Overall, Fannie acquired or guaranteed 843,000 refinanced loans in the second quarter, up 40% from the previous quarter.
In other Fannie news, a $14.8 billion loss was reported for the second quarter, compared to a $2.3 billion loss a year ago, and the mortgage giant is seeking a $10.7 billion draft from the Treasury Department to maintain a zero net worth.
The government sponsored enterprise, which is in conservatorship, absorbed $18.8 billion in credit expenses due to defaults and foreclosures.
The company benefited from a change in the accounting rules and recorded a $753 million impairment charge on its Alt-A and subprime private-label securities.
In the first quarter, Fannie recognized a $5.7 billion "other than temporary impairment" charge, which contributed to a $23.2 billion loss for that quarter.
The GSE also increased its reserves by $13 billion and ended the second quarter with a $54 billion single-family loss reserve.
Guaranty fee income fell 5% to $1.7 billion in the second quarter from the previous quarter while net interest income rose 15% to $3.7 billion.
Fannie said it is experiencing increasing default rates across its entire guaranty book of business and the serious delinquency rate on its $270 billion Alt-A portfolio hit 11.9% in the second quarter.
Overall, 3.9% of the GSE's single-family mortgages are 90 days or more past due, up from 1.7% a year ago.
