The Federal National Mortgage Assn.’s 1988 profit...

The Federal National Mortgage Assn.’s 1988 profit climbed 35% from 1987 to $507 million. The Washington-based organization, also known as Fannie Mae, is a congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned company that is the nation’s largest investor in American home mortgages. Fannie Mae credited the results to an increase in the spread between the yield on its investment portfolio and the cost of its outstanding debt, an increase in the size of its average investment portfolio, continued growth in guaranty fee income from mortgage-backed securities and a decline in the effective tax rate.