Freddie Mac

Thank you for standing by. And welcome to Freddie Mac's second quarter 2021 financial results media call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. If you require any further assistance, please press star zero. It is now my pleasure to introduce Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jeffrey Markowitz.

Good morning and thank you for joining us for a presentation of Freddie Mac's second quarter 2021 financial results. I'm Jeff Markowitz, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. We are joined today for the first time by our new CEO, Michael DeVito, and by our CFO, Chris Lown. Before we begin, we'd like to point out that during the call, Mr. DeVito and Mr. Lown may make forward-looking statements based on assumptions about the company's key business drivers and other factors. Changes in these factors could cause the company's actual results to materially vary from its expectations. A description of those factors can be found in the company's quarterly report on 410Q filed today. Mr. DeVito and Mr. Lown may also discuss non-GAAP financial measures. For more information about those measures, please see our earnings press release and related materials, which are posted on the investor relations section of FreddieMac.com. Our commentary today will be limited to business and market topics. As you know, we cannot comment on public policy or legislation concerning Freddie Mac. This call is recorded, and a replay will soon be available on FreddieMac.com. We ask that the call not be rebroadcast or transcribed. With that, I'll turn the call over to Freddie Mac CEO, Michael DeVito.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I'm pleased to participate in my first earnings call for Freddie Mac. Today, I will offer some early thoughts on priorities for the firm before handing it over to our CFO, Chris Lown, who will walk through our financials and outline some of the vital relief we've provided during the pandemic. I've engaged with Freddie Mac for nearly three decades as a lender and a servicer. Over this time, I've developed great respect for the company. So let me begin by stating that I believe strongly in the important role Freddie Mac plays in the housing market and its mission, a term I use expansively. For more than 50 years, Freddie Mac has supported this mission by providing liquidity, stability, and continuously seeking to advance affordability through our core operations. We have many opportunities to support affordable housing to further this mission. First, with renewed focus on meeting our housing goals and reaching underserved markets. Additionally, through the financial contributions we make to two affordable housing funds. Importantly, I'm confident Freddie Mac can be a source of positive influence in addressing longstanding issues of fundamental fairness for people in communities of color at every income level. This mission and these opportunities are among the main reasons I joined the firm. Moving forward, we have several goals for our company. First, we are committed to ensuring Freddie Mac is a world-class risk manager. We have a solid foundation and talented employees to achieve this goal. With continued focus, we can demonstrate safety and soundness and continuously enhance how we evaluate risk, all while broadly supporting the housing finance market through the economic cycle. In short, the better our risk management, the more broadly we can serve our mission, even in the face of a crisis. Second, we're focused on building capital and enhancing financial performance, which is the foundation that supports the risks we manage, promotes safety and soundness, and serves as an important stepping stone to our company's long-term aspirations post-conservatorship. As you're about to hear, our retained earnings for this quarter have contributed meaningfully to this goal. And finally, we're supporting and developing our people, in particular, growing the next generation of leaders We're privileged to have a strong management team, and our goal is to continue to develop our team as an investment in Freddie Mac's strength, stability, and industry leadership for the long run. I look forward to sharing our progress on this work in future quarters, and now I'll hand the presentation over to our CFO, Chris Lau.