Freddie Mac could finance apartment buildings

As fears of weakening credit quality scares investors away from buying commercial-mortgage-backed securities, Freddie Mac wants to expand its role in financing apartment buildings. Freddie Mac and its rival Fannie Mae have already taken on a bigger share of home mortgages. Now, the government-sponsored financier wants to buy mortgages secured by apartment units from its network of lenders. Freddie would then pool those mortgages together and sell them as whole loans or securities backed by those loans. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight must approve the proposal.