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Agency Review» Delinquency Rates 5.59% fannie single family freddie single family 5.07% August 2012 4.55% fannie » 3.44% freddie » 3.36% 4.03% Freddie Mac handled strategic defaulters: mortgage holders with the necessary financial resources to pay their mortgages but nonetheless decided to walk away from their debts. When the audit is completed, we expect to report findings of fact and make recommendations, if appropriate, for actions that can improve FHFA's oversight and Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's recoveries. This constitutes the extent of our current work on strategic defaulters. Second, we work closely with federal, 3.51% 3.00% 2.48% 1.96% 1.44% note: Delinquent loans reported here include all single-family loans 90 or more days past due as a percentage of portfolio size. Historical data covers a moving 12-month period. Source: Fannie Mae August 2012 Monthly Summary and Freddie Mac August 2012 Monthly Volume Summary 0.92% 0.40% state, and local criminal and civil law enforcement agencies to combat mortgage fraud and other significant offenses that emerged in the wake of the financial crisis. This includes fraud in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, foreclosure rescue scams, and abuses in the foreclosure process. For example, we recently participated in a criminal investigation that led the Department of Justice to file charges against 11 defendants in connection with a multimillion-dollar mortgage rescue scheme that defrauded 4,000 homeowners facing foreclosure. Our investigations may extend to the type of false statement cases cited in the article (e.g., an individual lying on a loan application), but larger cases involving multiple victims or comparatively large dollar losses are FHFA-OIG's primary focus. In sum, the article overstates the FHFA-OIG Op-Ed: Placing Our Mission in Perspective By Steve A. Linick, Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency Recently, the Chicago Tribune published an article discussing the work of my office, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General (FHFA-OIG). The piece, titled "Mortgage cops taking tough stance" (Sept. 13, 2012), implies my office will "lock up" anyone who strategically defaults on a mortgage. This is not the case, and I'd like to put in context what we are and are not doing. Congress created FHFA in the midst of the financial crisis, just six weeks before Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorships. As conservator, FHFA oversees both entities, which continue to own or guarantee a majority of all new residential mortgages in the United States and continue to have a very large impact on the domestic housing market. FHFA-OIG was created at the same time as FHFA. Among its missions are to ensure FHFA is effectively regulating Fannie 22 Mae and Freddie Mac; confirm FHFA appropriately preserves and conserves Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's assets; and detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in areas overseen by FHFA. My office goes about its work in two distinct ways. First, we regularly issue written reports that analyze the machinery of housing finance overseen by FHFA and then recommend areas of improvement, which can translate into significant revenues or cost savings that ultimately benefit taxpayers. For instance, we recently made recommendations that may ultimately lead Freddie Mac to recover an additional $3.4 billion in mortgage repurchases. In the strategic default area, FHFA-OIG audited FHFA's oversight of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's efforts to recover losses from foreclosure sales. As part of this audit, FHFA-OIG looked at how Fannie Mae and nature and extent of our work on strategic defaulters. My office is not "on the prowl for people who owe [Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac] money." We are, however, committed to combating mortgage fraud and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of FHFA's programs and operations while housing markets remain fragile and FHFA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac continue to be key players. Steve A. Linick has led the FHFA-OIG since his U.S. Senate confirmation in 2010. As inspector general, Linick is the senior official responsible for audits, evaluations, investigations, and other law enforcement efforts to combat fraud, waste, and abuse within or affecting the FHFA. STAT INSIGHT the real estate sector in September. New jobs added in 7,100 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 08/12 07/12 06/12 05/12 04/12 03/12 02/12 01/12 12/11 11/11 10/11 09/11 08/11 07/11 06/11 05/11 04/11 03/11 02/11 01/11 12/10 11/10 10/10 09/10 08/10

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