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Freddie Mac seeks $1.8 billion in aid after loss
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company operating under federal conservatorship, is seeking $1.8 billion in aid from the U.S. Treasury Department after a fourth straight quarterly loss.
The McLean, Virginia-based company lost $4.7 billion in the second quarter, compared with a gain of $768 million in the same period last year, it said today in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"High unemployment and other factors still pose very real challenges from the housing market and with that in mind we continue to focus on the quality of the new businesses we are adding to our book to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds," Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Haldeman Jr. said in a news release.
Freddie Mac, the second-biggest source of U.S. mortgage funding, and its larger rival Fannie Mae were seized by the federal government in 2008 and have been sustained by a promise of unlimited Treasury support. Including today's request from Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises have drawn $148.3 billion in aid since April 2009.
Fannie Mae reported a $1.2 billion second-quarter loss on Aug. 5 and said it would seek $1.5 billion in Treasury aid. Freddie Mac said today that it intends to make additional draws in the future.