GSEs to Sell Debt To Fund Buybacks

While Freddie’s funding needs are expected to be a relatively modest $10 billion to $20 billion, Fannie would need to raise about $60 billion, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. Most of the debt will be issued as discount notes, which are short-term debt securities that are sold at a discount to their nominal value and mature at face value, Citi analysts said in a note. The government-sponsored enterprises typically use discount notes to raise cash quickly. Fannie, however, is also likely to tap the debt market with notes that mature between two years and 10 years, analysts said. “Renewed debt issuance–which will be well short of that $200 billion total–will re-energize domestic money-manager interest in the debt market,” Jim Vogel, senior vice president at FTN Financial, wrote in a note. “It had been flagging since the fourth quarter of last year. We see better liquidity and more trading opportunities as a result.”