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Morgan Stanley Fannie Mae job
06.08.08
The US Treasury has hired Morgan Stanley to advise it on whether home finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need more capital.
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson acknowledges the move to employ a Wall Street firm is unorthodox.
Equally unusual is Morgan's waiver of fees. The firm will work for expenses only. They are expected to run to $95,000 (£48,400).
Morgan won a competitive bid process to conduct a “sensitivity analysis” of the companies' financial profiles and provide an assessment of appropriate capital structures for the two firms.
The US Treasury stressed that it has no immediate plans to inject funds into Fannie and Freddie.
Together the two firms guarantee more than $5 trillion of mortgage assets.
Sweeping housing rescue legislation enacted last week gave the US Treasury the temporary authority to make loans, and to provide equity to them to keep them as viable providers of mortgage finance.
