Deborah Jenkins, the new head of Freddie Mac’s multifamily business, is one of the architects behind the GSE’s success in the multifamily space, working hard to carve out market share over her 10 years with the company.
Her fastidious approach to credit quality coupled with a dedication to premium customer service are two of the main reasons Freddie Mac Multifamily enjoys a
0.01% serious delinquency rate while holding a $286 billion portfolio. Under Jenkins’ leadership, Freddie Mac Multifamily holds only four delinquent loans out of more than 20,000.
As a leader and innovator, much of Jenkins’ success comes from her willingness to break from the status quo while effectively communicating her vision with her team. For 2018, the goal was to maintain Freddie Mac’s brand and credit quality while maintaining high quality service, staying innovative in the market and properly mitigating risk.
Jenkins’ innovation and risk management acumen are on display with Freddie Mac Multifamily’s “prior approval” underwriting model. She and her team underwrite every loan before committing to it, a commitment to excellence that protects a razor-thin delinquency rate.
The prior approval model only works if the Freddie Mac underwriting team is performing the necessary due diligence and approving every transaction day-in and day-out.
Jenkins is a working mother and is a role model for women in the workforce everywhere as she carved a place at the top for herself in an industry dominated by men.
What is one thing you cannot do without?
“As an underwriter, leader and colleague, I cannot do without transparency. For Freddie Mac Multifamily, if we’re surprising our investors, even our potential investors, we aren’t doing our jobs.”
