Fannie Mae Prices $1.494 Billion Connecticut Avenue Securities Risk Sharing Deal

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Feb 06, 2018, 03:33 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) priced its first credit risk sharing transaction of 2018 under its Connecticut Avenue Securities^™ (CAS) program. CAS Series 2018-C01, a $1.494 billion note offering, is scheduled to settle on February 14, 2018. CAS is Fannie Mae's benchmark issuance program designed to share credit risk on its single-family conventional guaranty book of business.

"Our first transaction of 2018 was met with solid demand as we continue to attract a diversified base of investors drawn to the consistency and liquidity of our program," said Laurel Davis, vice president of credit risk transfer, Fannie Mae. "Per our published deal calendar, we expect to return to the market with our next CAS deal, 2018-C02, in early March, which will reference loans with loan-to-value ratios between 80 and 97 percent."

The reference pool for CAS Series 2018-C01 consists of more than 186,000 single-family mortgage loans with an aggregate outstanding unpaid principal balance of approximately $44.9 billion. The loans in this reference pool have original loan-to-value ratios between 60 and 80 percent and were acquired from May 2017 through August 2017. The loans included in this transaction are fixed-rate, generally 30-year term, fully amortizing mortgages, and were underwritten using rigorous credit standards and enhanced risk controls.

Fannie Mae will retain a portion of the 1M-1, 1M-2, and 1B-1 tranches in order to align its interests with investors throughout the life of the deal. Fannie Mae will retain the full 1B-2 and 1A-H tranches.

Class	Offered Amount ($MM)	Pricing Level	Expected Rating
1M-1	$384.186	1-month Libor plus 60 bps	BBB-sf from Fitch Ratings and BBB (high) (sf) from DBRS.
1M-2	$853.746	1-month Libor plus 225 bps	Bsf from Fitch Ratings and B (high) (sf) from DBRS.
1B-1	$256.124	1-month Libor plus 355 bps	This class will not be rated

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. ("BofA Merrill Lynch") is the lead structuring manager and joint bookrunner and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC ("Wells Fargo Securities") is the co-lead manager and joint bookrunner. Co-managers are Barclays Capital Inc. ("Barclays"), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. ("Citi"), Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC ("Morgan Stanley"), and Nomura Securities International ("Nomura"). Selling group members are Mischler Financial Group and Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.

With the completion of this transaction, Fannie Mae will have brought 24 CAS deals to market since the program began, issued $30 billion in notes, and transferred a portion of the credit risk to private investors on single-family mortgage loans with an original unpaid principal balance of approximately $986.9 billion. Since 2013, Fannie Mae has transferred a portion of the credit risk on approximately $1.3 trillion in single-family mortgages through all of its risk transfer programs.

Fannie Mae's deliberate issuer strategy works to build the CAS program in a sustainable way to promote liquidity and to build a broad and diverse investor base. To promote transparency and to help investors evaluate our program, Fannie Mae provides ongoing robust disclosure data to help credit investors evaluate the program, as well as access to news, resources, and analytics through its credit risk sharing webpages. This includes Fannie Mae's innovative Data Dynamics^® tool, which enables market participants to analyze CAS deals that are currently outstanding.

In addition to the flagship CAS program, Fannie Mae continues to reduce risk to taxpayers through its Credit Insurance Risk Transfer^™ (CIRT^™) reinsurance program and other forms of risk transfer.

About Connecticut Avenue Securities^™CAS notes are bonds issued by Fannie Mae. The amount of periodic principal and ultimate principal paid by Fannie Mae is determined by the performance of a large and diverse reference pool. For more information on individual CAS transactions and Fannie Mae's approach to credit risk transfer, visit our credit risk sharing website.

Statements in this release regarding the company's future CAS transactions are forward-looking. Actual results may be materially different as a result of market conditions or other factors listed in "Risk Factors" or "Forward-Looking Statements" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. This release does not constitute an offer or sale of any security. Before investing in any Fannie Mae issued security, potential investors should review the disclosure for such security and consult their own investment advisors.

Fannie Mae helps make the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and affordable rental housing possible for millions of Americans. We partner with lenders to create housing opportunities for families across the country. We are driving positive changes in housing finance to make the home buying process easier, while reducing costs and risk. To learn more, visit fanniemae.com and follow us on twitter.com/fanniemae.

SOURCE Fannie Mae