Fannie, Freddie have ample liquidity for MBS purchases, Federal Housing Finance Agency director says

Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have "hundreds of billions of dollars worth of liquidity" with which the agencies can carry out President Donald Trump's directive to buy mortgage-backed securities to bolster the housing market.

In a brief phone interview late on Thursday Pulte declined to provide specific details on funding or the timeline for the purchases, announced by Trump earlier in the day.

"We're very serious about executing on it, and we will be executing the president's vision," he said, adding neither the U.S. Treasury nor the Federal Reserve would be involved in the purchases.