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Glite Dictionary
Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac

5 5.5
A US company backed by the government that buys home loans from banks and sells them to investors
  • proper noun
  • US
translation icon : Freddie Mac
  • In addition, an increasing share of refinancing borrowers chose to shorten their loan terms during the second quarter, according to Freddie Mac's Quarterly Product Transition Report.
  • Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
  • Fannie Mae
  • Freddie Mac mortgage

Examples

  • Fannie Mae was created in 1938 as a government agency, and Freddie Mac was created in 1970 as a quasi-government agency.

    Blog text (28)

  • Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets.

    Blog text (18)

  • Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders.

    Blog text (18)

  • The attorneys general from eleven states wrote a letter to the Acting Director of the FHFA to urge him to allow Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to incorporate principal writedowns into their foreclosure-avoidance models.

    Blog text (18)

  • Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac provides funding to help people buy homes.

  • In recent years, Freddie Mac has played a crucial role in stabilizing the housing market.

  • Many homeowners rely on loans backed by Freddie Mac to finance their mortgages.

Synonyms

FHLMC
vsFreddie Mac
1 8.4

A US company supported by the government that buys home loans from banks and sells them to investors

is the common trade name used instead of the formal abbreviation
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
vsFreddie Mac
  • Formal
1 6.0

A US company backed by the government that buys home loans to help banks lend more

focuses on buying mortgages and repackaging them as investor securities

Surface Forms

Freddie Mac main

Morphology

Freddie + Mac

This is a fixed proper name for a specific institution; knowing the constituents 'Freddie' (a personal name) and 'Mac' (a name element) does not allow a B1 learner to infer the organizational/financial meaning. The sense is encyclopedic and requires world knowledge about U.S. mortgage institutions, so it is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Freddie Mac began as a friendly nickname for the long official title Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and people made it to match Fannie Mae so the two names sound like a pair. That's why Freddie Mac today refers to the company that buys 'home loans' from lenders and sells them to investors to help the housing market.