Fannie Mae and Freddie Macâ??s federal regulator is renegotiating the companiesâ?? financing plan with the U.S. Treasury Department and may seek an increase to their $400bn federal lifeline before the end of the year, Bloomberg reports.Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency officials are also debating whether to lower the cost of the companiesâ?? dividend payments on their borrowings from Treasury.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest sources of mortgage money in the U.S., have used $111.6bn of their $400bn in backup financing in less than a year. The companies say their 10 percent annual dividend payment, which comes to about $5bn apiece, costs more than either have earned in most years and adds to their draws on the Treasury.
