Fannie Mae will be looking for ways to “trim fat,” Chairman Bill Pulte declared during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday.
Pulte — who appointed himself chairman of the government-sponsored enterprise in March, shortly after being confirmed as director of the Fannie Mae overseer Federal Housing Finance Agency — made the comments following a quarterly earnings release that saw Fannie Mae’s net income fall 11% from the prior quarter. The company’s net worth increased 4% during the quarter to $98.3 billion.
On a year-over-year basis, net income was down 15%, with the bottom line taking a hit due to a much smaller credit loss benefit. Net revenues were flat from a year ago, while the company’s net worth increased 20% from the first quarter of 2024.
“While assets are significant, there remains great opportunity to trim fat, turn the business around, generate more earnings and do so all while ensuring safety and soundness,” Pulte said.
Pulte did not specify how the company plans to streamline business operations during a media call that lasted just under 15 minutes.
Priscilla Almodovar, Fannie Mae’s president and CEO, noted that first-quarter net income of $3.7 billion was driven primarily by guaranty fees. But she said headwinds included affordability challenges for prospective homebuyers and the “lock-in effect,” when homeowners are reluctant to sell their existing homes out of concern that their new mortgage will have a higher interest rate.
Other highlights of the earnings report included the disclosure that Fannie Mae provided $76 billion in liquidity during the first quarter of 2025, which enabled the financing of approximately 287,000 home purchases, refinancings and rental units.
Fannie acquired approximately 144,000 single-family purchase loans during the first quarter, about half of which were for first-time homebuyers. The government-sponsored mortgage giant also acquired about 50,000 single-family refinance loans during the quarter.
