Fannie Mae's July portfolio rose 14.4 percent

NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, (FNM.N) the largest U.S. home funding company, on Tuesday said its mortgage investment portfolio grew 14.4 percent in July.

The portfolio increased to $758.1 billion, the Washington-based company said in its July monthly summary. Fannie Mae's contracts to purchase mortgages in the future rose to $43.3 billion from $38.3 billion.

Serious delinquencies on loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae jumped to 1.36 percent in June from 1.3 percent in May.

Fannie Mae earlier this month reported a much larger-than-expected second-quarter loss and slashed its dividend more than 85 percent to preserve capital as home loan defaults accelerated amid the worst U.S. housing market downturn since Great Depression. (Reporting by Julie Haviv)