WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US government-controlled housing financer Freddie Mac reported its first quarterly profit in three and a half years Wednesday, after years of losses on its huge mortgage portfolio.
Bailed out at huge cost to the government during the housing crisis of the past three years, Freddie Mac reported $676 million in net income for the period to March 31, compared to a loss of $6.7 billion a year earlier, and a shortfall of $113 million in the quarter to December 31.
It was the first net gain in 14 quarters for the company, 80 percent owned by the government, after it and its larger sister, Fannie Mae, were rescued to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars at the height of the crisis.
Freddie Mac said it had achieved a positive worth of $1.2 billion in the quarter after write-offs of $2.98 billion (up from $2.77 billion a year earlier) and a $500 million injection from the US Treasury late last year.
It also said it had paid a $1.6 billion quarterly dividend to the Treasury.
Non-performing assets, mainly home mortgages in default, rose to $124 billion dollars -- 6.4 percent of its total mortgage portfolio -- from $117 billion a year earlier.
"Our support of the US housing market remained steadfast during this critical period, funding one out of every four home loans originated and helping more than 62,000 struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure," said chief executive Charles Haldeman in a statement.
But he warned the US housing sector was not clearly recovering.
"Continued improvements on the employment front and in early-stage delinquencies were positive signs during the quarter, but we believe large inventories of unsold homes and a high number of distressed sales will continue to put downward pressure on home prices in many neighborhoods."
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