Fannie, Freddie need More Bailouts

Regulators of the United States housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Wednesday that the mortgage loan companies could require more bailouts from United States taxpayers as risks are increasing because of shrinking reserves.

The two companies were bailed out by Washington in 2008 at height of the financial crisis. That time, the companies were ordered to reduce their capital buffers.

In an earlier report, Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General said that future profitability is far from assured. The Inspector General also pointed out that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could again overcome losses on their derivatives portfolios, same to those that they reported in the fourth quarter.

The report further stated, "This increases the likelihood of additional Treasury investment".

Last month, chief executive of the Fannie Mae, which was founded in 1938 during the Great Depression, issued the same warming. The warning was issued when the company announced that it would make its smallest payment to taxpayers in more than four years. The chances of another taxpayer draw have raised pressure on the United States Congress to overhaul housing finance laws.

Taxpayers contributed more than $115 billion into Fannie Mae after the United States house market collapse, while the taxpayers helped Freddie Mac to receive about $71.3 billion after the marker collapse. Both the mortgage loan companies have already paid in payments more than they received in aid.

The companies, which are run by the government, do not lend money directly, but support the country's housing market by guaranteeing most new mortgages in the United States. Both the companies purchase loans from lenders and then package them into securities. After that, they are sold to investors. The United States government took over Fannie and Freddie in 2008.