Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that plans to redesign the way Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) do business have been pushed back until 2011. However, a set of principles and objectives for the two mortgage giants will be outlined before the close of this year.
The news comes just as Freddie Mac announced its fourth quarter loss narrowed to $6.47 billion from $23.9 billion a year ago. However, it was larger than the $4.3 billion loss registered in the third quarter.
The mortgage giant said the loss includes a dividend payment of $1.3 billion to the Treasury Department for its senior preferred stock. Freddie Mac was taken into conservatorship during the height of the mortgage meltdown.
“In a trying and turbulent year, Freddie Mac played a critical role in supporting the nation’s housing recovery,” said Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Haldeman, Jr. “We provided a constant source of liquidity – purchasing one out of every four home loans originated last year – and our presence in the market helped keep mortgage rates at historic lows.”
Freddie Mac did report positive net worth of $4.4 billion as of the close of the quarter, which is down from $9.4 billion in the third quarter. However, the positive figure means the lender will not need to tap government aid to maintain its loan portfolio. Earlier this year the government removed financial caps on aid it would provide Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
The company posted a loss of $21.6 billion for the full-year 2009, almost half of the $50.1 billion loss incurred in 2008.
Freddie Mac owns or guarantees more than $5 trillion in home mortgages and backed nearly 75 percent of new home loans made in 2010.
