WASHINGTON — Government-controlled Freddie Mac requested $1.5 billion in additional federal aid Monday after posting a loss this spring.
The mortgage giant said it lost $4.7 billion in the April-June quarter. That takes into account $1.6 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury Department. It compares with a loss of $6 billion, or $1.85 per share, during the same quarter in 2010.
The government rescued Freddie Mac and sibling firm Fannie Mae in September 2008 after massive losses on risky mortgages threatened to topple them. Since then, a government regulator has controlled their financial decisions.
Standard & Poor’s cited the “direct reliance” on the U.S. government when it lowered Freddie and Fannie’s credit ratings on Monday, from AAA to AA+. That reflected the same downgrade S&P made of long-term U.S. government debt on Friday.
Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages and nearly all new mortgage loans. The mortgage giants buy home loans from banks and other lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default, and then sell them to investors around the world.
Washington-based Fannie Mae said Friday that its second-quarter loss widened to nearly $5.2 billion. It continues to seek loan modifications to reduce defaults.
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