WASHINGTON - THE Federal Reserve said Thursday it bought $10.2 billion (S$15 billion) in mortgage securities through investment managers, kicking off a programme aimed at easing the credit crisis.

A statement from the New York Fed covered the first three days of purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities under the programme announced in November.

The programme was announced in late November as another step in fighting a credit crunch stemming from the collapse in housing that has now engulfed the financial sector and is choking economic activity.

The New York Fed, which will carry out the purchases, selected four investment managers for the program: BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, PIMCO and Wellington Management Company.

The central bank had already begun on its own purchasing up to 100 billion dollars in mortgage-backed securities and will buy up to 500 billion more through these investment firms.

The new efforts are part of a move to restart consumer credit markets that froze up in October and to get more liquidity and bring down borrowing costs for the housing market, which is at the center of the economic storm. -- AFP