Freddie Mac is seeking an additional $10.6 billion in government funding after reporting an $8 billion loss in the first quarter.
The government-sponsored enterprise said Wednesday that recent accounting rule changes that require it to hold securitized loans on its books forced it to add $1.5 trillion of assets and liabilities to its balance sheet. That resulted in a hit to its equity and led to a net worth deficit of $10.5 billion, compared with positive net worth of $4.4 billion at the end of the fourth quarter.
Freddie said it expects to receive the federal aid by June 30.
Continued weakness in the housing market also contributed to the GSE’s quarterly loss, which included $1.3 billion of
"Though we are encouraged by signs of modest stabilization in some trends on the credit side of our single-family business, given the many uncertainties in the economy, we remain cautious," said chief financial officer Ross Kari in a statement.
The percentage of delinquent loans in its single-family portfolio rose to 4.13% from 3.98% at December 31. Chargeoffs rose to $2.8 billion from $2.4 billion.
