Freddie Mac (FRE) on Tuesday announced that it would sell a
benchmark-size, three-year note this week.
The mortgage finance giant hopes to continue the good run that
government-sponsored enterprises have had in the debt market in
recent months.
Earlier this month, Fannie Mae (FNM) raised $7 billion in
five-year notes, and is expected to announce another issue next
week.
The price talk on Freddie's new issue is in the range of 90
basis points over comparable Treasury yields.
"The pricing is designed to attract the domestic money mangers
critical to making any deal work in this market, particularly on a
day as hectic as today," said Jim Vogel, agency strategist with FTN
Financial, in a note.
Meanwhile, Fannie's current 3-year note was trading 4.5 basis
points weaker at 72 basis points late Tuesday morning, according to
TradeWeb data.
The issue is expected to be priced Wednesday, and settle
Thursday. The bookrunners on the deal are J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan
Stanley and UBS.
-By Prabha Natarajan, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5071;
prabha.natarajan@dowjones.com