While the U.S. Government’s investments in the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. already exceeded $150 billion and will increase as a result of the latest quarterly losses — the amount of capital being pumped into the two government-sponsored enterprises dropped 27 percent from the second quarter. A big improvement at one enterprise more than offset deterioration at the other.
On Friday, Fannie Mae reported a $1.3 billion third-quarter loss before taxes — worse than $1.2 billion three months earlier.
But the Washington, D.C.-based company cut its losses significantly from the third-quarter 2009 — when reported losses exceeded $19.0 billion.
Fannie said that its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has requested $2.5 billion more from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The prior request was on June 30 for $1.5 billion.
The Treasury’s total preferred stock investment in Fannie Mae increases to $88.6 billion as a result of the latest FHFA request.
In McLean, Va., Freddie Mac reported that it reduced its loss to $2.5 billion in the third quarter from $4.7 billion three months earlier and $5.4 billion a year earlier.
FHFA’s request to the Treasury is much smaller for Freddie: $0.1 billion — a huge improvement over the $1.8 billion second-quarter request.
The latest request from FHFA will bring the government’s senior preferred stock investment in Freddie Mac to $64.2 billion.
