Freddie Mac said Monday that it will issue $6 billion in new debt during March, including a new $3 billion five-year USD Reference Notes security (CUSIP number 3137EABJ7) due on May 29, 2013, and a new $3 billion two-year USD Reference Notes security (CUSIP number 3137EABH1) due on May 28, 2010. Both debt issues will be priced later this week and will settle on March 14, the GSE said. Freddie Mac, along with Fannie Mae, regularly offers new debt tied to those mortgages it holds in its portfolio that aren’t pooled and sold directly into the secondary market. Including today’s debt announcement, Freddie Mac has issued $14 billion of Reference Notes securities during 2008 and has approximately $251 billion in Reference Notes and Reference Bonds securities outstanding. Both GSEs have had to become significantly more reliant on using debt to fund their mortgage operations during the ongoing mortgage crisis, relative to tapping directly into the secondary market. It’s a trend that some market participants find troubling. “This may be the most liquid portion of the secondary market, but even the GSEs are finding it prohibitive to put pass-throughs out there right now,” said one source, a bond trader who asked not to be named. Freddie Mac has issued just $400 million in agency-backed MBS during 2008, and has issued a deal only twice in the past 9 nine months; the GSE follows a monthly MBS issuance schedule. For more information, visit http://www.freddiemac.com.

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