Freddie Mac portfolio jumps 66 pct in November

NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac, the second largest U.S. home funding provider, said its retained mortgage portfolio surged by an annual rate of 65.6 percent in November, the second full month the company was under government control.

Freddie Mac said its portfolio grew to $805.4 billion last month, up 12.8 percent year to date.

It was the second straight month of significant growth in the company's mortgage investments, following two straight months of steep reductions. In October, the portfolio jumped by an annual rate of 43.6 percent.

Its total mortgage portfolio rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the month and by 5.1 percent in the first 11 months of the year.

(Reporting by Lynn Adler, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Keywords: FREDDIEMAC/PORTFOLIO ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.