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18 MOTION FILED TO UNSEAL DEPOSITIONS IN FAIRHOLME GSE PROFITS LAWSUIT e New York Times Company filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to intervene and to have the "protected information" designation removed from the testimony of key government officials in Fairholme Funds' GSE profits lawsuit. e newspaper asked the Court to remove the pro- tected information tag from the depositions of Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) from 2009 to 2014, and Mario Ugoletti, a senior official with the U.S. Department of Treasury in 2008 when the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a combined price of $187.5 billion. e court filing said both DeMarco and Ugoletti played a "critical role" in the govern- ment's efforts to stabilize the economy by placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the FHFA's conservatorship in September 2008. "rough this action, the Times seeks to intervene and be heard on the question of the public's access to documents arising from discovery in this action," wrote David E. McCraw from the Times' Legal Department in the filing. "News organizations are routinely permitted to intervene and be heard on issues involving public access to judicial proceedings and documents, including chal- lenges to discovery protective orders, pursuant to Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, either permis- sively, or, at times, as a matter of right." Florida-based mutual fund Fairholme Funds, one of the GSEs' largest investors, sued the government in July 2013 over the sweeping of GSE profits into Treasury—a practice which began in August 2012 after an amendment to the original bailout agreement. e year 2012 was the first year of profitability for the GSEs after the bailout. Fairholme CEO Bruce Berkowitz has said the sweeping of GSE profits shortchanges investors. A judge in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia dismissed Fairholme's suit and a similar suit by hedge fund Perry Capital in September 2014, but a judge in the federal claims court revived Fairholme's suit in January 2015. McCraw also wrote in the filing that the Times believes the government has failed to show "good cause" for sealing the DeMarco and Ugoletti depositions. To show good cause to keep the documents sealed under law, parties must show that disclosure of the information "will cause a clear and serious injury" via a "particular and specific demonstration of fact, as distinguished from stereotyped and conclusory statements." e filing by the Times contended the government has not done this—and that a confidentiality order does not trump the require- ment to show good cause to keep the documents sealed. "e courts have repeatedly recognized that disclosure of discovery is particularly appropriate when a lawsuit sheds light on the performance of government agencies and entities—which is pre- cisely the case here," McCraw said in the filing. e filing stated the public's interest in the underlying facts of the Fairholme case are "undeniable." "e litigation has deep roots in the govern- ment's decision to provide an emergency bailout to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the midst of a grave threat to the national economy," McCraw wrote. "e case directly addresses how the gov- ernment is going about recouping public funds used in the bailout and whether other investors are being treated lawfully. e government should not be able to hide from the public—vot- ers and taxpayers—the facts that were central to the decisions that the government made as part of the far-reaching effort to safeguard the U.S. economy." FREDDIE MAC LAYS OUT IMPORTANCE OF A CONSUMER'S CREDIT SCORE IN HOMEBUYING Because a borrower's credit score influences a lender's decision on whether or not to give that borrower a single-family mortgage loan, the im- portance of having a good credit score when buy- ing a home cannot be underestimated, according to Freddie Mac's blog in mid-June. According to Freddie Mac, the best way to earn a high credit score is to pay debts on time, including credit cards, car payments, or student loan payments. Because a recent survey by Tran- sUnion found three out of four consumers know their credit score is important but are unaware of the critical role the score plays when they are seeking a mortgage loan, on Freddie Mac published a list of helpful hints (as reported by financial-education company Financial Finesse) for consumers who are trying to build a solid credit score or consumers who may not know of its importance. A credit score between 661 and 780 is gener- ally considered good, with 700 being the "sweet spot," according to Freddie Mac; a credit score between 781 and 850 is considered excellent. ose with lower credit scores who do get ac- cepted for mortgage loans (and other types of loans) will almost certainly pay higher inter- est rates than those with higher credit scores. erefore, those with higher credit scores pay less over the life. Freddie Mac encourages borrowers to obtain credit scores from all three of the main credit bu- reaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. e credit bureaus weigh various aspects of consumer credit differently, so credit scores will vary from one bureau to the next. Contrary to popular belief, Freddie Mac said, transferring credit card balances to a card with a lower interest rate will not help, and could in fact hurt a consumer's credit. Freddie Mac encour- ages consumers to pay their existing accounts rather than opening new ones. Freddie Mac encourages to track their scores regularly so they might catch and correct any issues early. "The litigation has deep roots in the government's decision to provide an emergency bailout to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the midst of a grave threat to the national economy."

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