Fannie Mae to Pay Treasury $5.5 Billion

Fannie Mae to Pay Treasury $5.5 Billion

Fannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month after its profit doubled in its latest quarter.

Feb. 17, 2017, at 8:39 a.m.

http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/5..._Mae_14256.jpgFannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month. (MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP PHOTO)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Fannie Mae said Friday that it will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month after its profit doubled in its latest quarter.

The government-controlled mortgage company has already paid the Treasury $154.4 billion in dividends since receiving $116.1 billion in government bailouts between 2008 and 2011. Fannie Mae's sibling Freddie Mac, which was also rescued by the government during the recession, said Thursday that it would pay the Treasury a $4.5 billion dividend next month after its profit soared.

Both companies buy mortgages from lenders, package them as bonds, guarantee them against default and sell them to investors. They do not make loans to homebuyers directly.

Fannie Mae said it had net income of $5.04 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $2.5 billion in the same period a year ago.

For all of 2016, The Washington, D.C., company reported net income of $12.31 billion, up from $10.95 billion in 2015.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/...profit-doubles