Federal Housing Finance Agency

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is looking to step up pressure on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to reduce loan principal for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. In a letter sent Wednesday to Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a coalition of state attorneys general that includes Coakley advocated for swift implementation of principal forgiveness in federal loan modification programs. The agency oversees Fannie and Freddie.

WASHINGTON - US mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported its first net income gain since it was taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis. Fannie said Wednesday that it earned net income attributable to common stockholders of $2.7 billion in the January-March quarter. Instead of seeking additional aid from taxpayers, the company will pay a dividend of $2.8 billion to the Treasury Department. That compares with the same quarter one year ago when Fannie reported a net loss of $6.5 billion.

NEW YORK — The federal agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-owned mortgage finance giants, failed to refer to investigators almost 100 complaints about possible foreclosure abuse and mortgage fraud over a recent two-year period, according to a report by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The report did not determine if the complaints had merit but said the agency’s unresponsiveness was problematic. The report is the third to assess the agency that acts as conservator for Fannie and Freddie, which have cost the taxpayer roughly $154 billion...

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is looking to step up pressure on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to reduce loan principal for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. In a letter sent Wednesday to Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a coalition of state attorneys general that includes Coakley advocated for swift implementation of principal forgiveness in federal loan modification programs. The agency oversees Fannie and Freddie.

WASHINGTON — The federal regulator overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac defended his agency’s approval of millions of taxpayer dollars for legal fees to cover lawsuits against the housing giants and their executives, telling angry House committee members yesterday that his agency was obligated to do so. Figures gathered by the House Financial Services Committee’s oversight subcommittee show that since the government took over the two...

WASHINGTON - The government regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said yesterday that million-dollar bonuses paid to executives at the companies were necessary to keep the mortgage giants running. Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, wrote to lawmakers that paying $12.8 million in bonuses was a way of keeping talented executives with the companies. Without them, taxpayers would incur greater losses. "We will need expert management of those guarantees for years to come," DeMarco wrote to a group of 60 senators who want him to...

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators plan to disclose today that the top executives of government controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each earned between $4 million and $6 million this year, two people briefed on the matter said. The people, who declined to be identified because the disclosure was not yet public, said yesterday the pay packages were approved by the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie.

NEW YORK - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds, which guide home loan rates, gained yesterday while those backed by high-cost debt declined on speculation the government may boost efforts to aid the housing market. Yields on Fannie Mae's current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage securities, or those trading closest to face value, declined about 4 basis points to 84 basis points more than 10- year US government debt, the tightest spread since May 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

NEW YORK - The Treasury Department has removed the $400 billion financial cap on how much money it will provide to the beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a step taken to keep the companies from failing. So far, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair. Yesterday, Treasury officials said the cap would be replaced with a flexible formula. The goal is to ensure the two agencies can stand behind the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities they sell to investors.

WASHINGTON - The director of the government's housing finance agency said Tuesday that it might now make more sense for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the amount of money homeowners owe on loans held by the agencies. Because of new incentives put in place by the Obama administration, the agencies might cut their losses by easing up on the borrowers, he said. Edward J. DeMarco, who as acting head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has long opposed this type of relief for people whose homes are worth less than their mortgage...

WASHINGTON - The director of the government's housing finance agency said Tuesday that it might now make more sense for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the amount of money homeowners owe on loans held by the agencies. Because of new incentives put in place by the Obama administration, the agencies might cut their losses by easing up on the borrowers, he said. Edward J. DeMarco, who as acting head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has long opposed this type of relief for people whose homes are worth less than their mortgage debts, said that a new analysis showed...

Government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac has requested just $146 million in additional aid after posting a smaller loss in the fourth quarter of last year. That's far less than in the third quarter, when Freddie received $6 billion from the government. It received $7.6 billion for all of 2011 and $13 billion for all of 2010. Freddie Mac said Thursday that it lost $1 billion, or 32 cents per share, in the October-December quarter. That compares with a loss of $1.72 billion, or 53 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2010.

WASHINGTON - Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said yesterday that it lost money in the fourth quarter and is asking the federal government for nearly $4.6 billion in aid to cover its deficit. Fannie, based in Washington, D.C., said it lost roughly $2.4 billion in the October-December quarter, stung by declining home prices. Revenue was about $4.5 billion. The government rescued Fannie and sibling company Freddie Mac in September 2008, to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Wednesday that it lost money in the fourth quarter and is asking the federal government for nearly $4.6 billion in aid to cover its deficit. Washington, D.C.-based Fannie said it lost roughly $2.4 billion in the October-December quarter, stung by declining home prices. Revenue was about $4.5 billion. The government rescued Fannie and sibling company Freddie Mac in September 2008 to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans. Since then, a federal regulator — the Federal Housing Finance Agency — has controlled their financial...

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is urging mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to do more to prevent "unnecessary foreclosures," including by reducing loan principal for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. Coakley yesterday released a letter she sent to Edward DeMarco - acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that oversees the two semipublic lenders - asking him to promote principal forgiveness as a way to mend the housing market and the nation's overall economy.

NEW YORK - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds, which guide home loan rates, gained yesterday while those backed by high-cost debt declined on speculation the government may boost efforts to aid the housing market. Yields on Fannie Mae's current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage securities, or those trading closest to face value, declined about 4 basis points to 84 basis points more than 10- year US government debt, the tightest spread since May 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

WASHINGTON - Congress is seeking to end the practice of paying million-dollar bonuses to executives at the government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would suspend tens of millions in executive compensation packages, stop future bonuses, and align the salaries with those of other federal employees, who make much less. The vote was 52 to 4, with strong support from both parties. The Senate is expected to take up a similar measure; legislation limiting pay at the bailed-out companies could be sent to...