Paulson Told Wall Street Fannie & Freddie Bailouts Coming

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwdQ-3_ueA&feature=related]Paulson Told Wall Street Fannie & Freddie Bailouts Coming - YouTube[/ame]

 

[waltky]

Granny says make `em pay back dat bailout money...

Freddie Mac posts second-biggest profit in its history
8 May`13 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Freddie Mac , the No. 2 provider of U.S. mortgage money, on Wednesday said it reaped its second-largest profit ever in the first quarter, a reflection of housing market gains that have taken the steam out of efforts to revamp the nation's home loan system.

The government-controlled company reported net income of $4.6 billion for the first three months of the year, up from $577 million in the year-ago quarter. It cited rising home prices, falling mortgage delinquencies and increased refinance activity for the improved performance. It was the company's sixth straight quarterly profit and the largest since a $5.7 billion gain in the third quarter of 2002. "The strong rebound in the housing market ... continues to be reflected in our excellent financial performance," Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Donald Layton told reporters on a conference call.

Freddie Mac, which faced insolvency when it was seized by the U.S. government in 2008 along with its larger rival Fannie Mae , paid $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury in the first quarter as a dividend payment under the terms of its government bail-out. It said it would make another $7 billion payment in June, and suggested it could record gains on $30.1 billion worth of assets it had written down as early as in the second quarter, leading to an even bigger payment. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which together own or guarantee about half of U.S. home loans, have tapped $187.5 billion in taxpayer aid since being placed in conservatorship.

But they have both returned to profitability, helped by the Federal Reserve's aggressive efforts to lower interest rates. The swing in their financial fortunes has undercut the urgency the Obama administration and lawmakers have felt to wind them down, particularly given a steady stream of dividends that now totals more than $65 billion. "There's a mindset of 'Why fiddle with anything now that it's going well?'" said Anthony Sanders, finance professor at George Mason University and a former mortgage bond strategist. "We are seeing the interest waning in doing anything with them."

http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-mac-posts-second-biggest-profit-history-first-124409935.html[/url

http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-mac-posts-second-biggest-profit-history-first-124409935.html[/url