ECONOMICS REPORT - Fannie Mae, Under Investigation, Plays a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Fannie Mae, Under Investigation¹, Plays a Huge Part in Home Loan Market
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, October 08, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Americans say owning a home is part of the American dream. But many people may not recognize the part that a company called Fannie Mae plays in the home loan industry. Now government financial investigators² have found serious problems at the company.

Fannie Mae began as the Federal National Mortgage Association. Congress established it in nineteen thirty-eight. It became a private corporation in nineteen seventy, and later changed its name to Fannie Mae.

A mortgage is a loan secured by property. A person goes to a lender, usually a bank, to borrow money for a home. The person pays the loan back, with interest, over a period of long as thirty years. The bank must wait a long time to get its money back. So Fannie Mae buys mortgages from lenders. This supplies them with money to use for other loans.

Investors³ buy shares in Fannie Mae so the company has money to pay for mortgages. Fannie Mae also sells and trades what are called mortgage-backed securities. Bonds based on mortgages are considered low-risk investments. However, these are not guaranteed by the government.

Fannie Mae and a similar company, Freddie Mac, control about half the home loans in America. Experts say the market is worth almost eight million million dollars.

Last year, investigators found problems with financial record-keeping at Freddie Mac. But they say the problems at Fannie Mae are a lot more serious.

An agency called the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight⁴ accused Fannie Mae of hiding changes in its value. The agency criticized the company for poor supervision⁵ and not carefully reporting its finances. Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are also investigating Fannie Mae.

Franklin Raines, the chief executive officer, defends the actions of the company. Mister Raines says Fannie Mae did not falsely represent its financial condition.

Industry experts say the work of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helps keep mortgage rates lower, so more Americans can own homes. But the price of Fannie Mae stock has dropped after news of the investigations⁶.

Experts say the company could have to pay more when it needs to borrow money. They say the situation could also lead to higher mortgage rates for home buyers in the future.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。