FNM

We all know the deal: Big firms which got government bailouts and haven't paid back the money are supposed to be subject to pay restrictions. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both borrowed tens of billions, and haven't repaid it yet. So how is it that their CEOs will make eye-popping sums for their work in 2009?

It was a year ago this week that the federal government seized ailing mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). Their collapse, it was feared, could imperil the entire financial system. The takeover wasn't meant to be permanent, but a new congressional report illustrates why...

August is known as a quiet month for the stock market, as many institutional investors and traders take advantage of the waning summer to go on vacation. Trading volume dries up, and some large price swings can be attributed to the lack of liquidity, but this news about the concentrated nature of...

Freddie Mac (FRE) dodged the fate of its mortgage finance stablemate Fannie Mae (FNM) which lost $14.8 billion in the last quarter and said it would need $10.7 billion in immediate federal aid. In the second quarter, the financial firm had net income of 2009 was $768 million. After the dividend...

Back in 2007, veteran banker Eugene McQuade said he was leaving his post as president of mortgage giant Freddie Mac (FRE) because he was frustrated with "onerous" demands by the company's overseers in Washington. Unfortunately, McQuade's new position as CEO of commercial banking operations at...

Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), two wards of the government, have announced they will lower lending standards to encourage refinancing for mortgage holders who have gone underwater due to falling prices. The new push comes as the Washington Business Journal reports that Freddie received an...

It's probably not news to most people who read the papers that Herb Allison, who currently runs Fannie Mae (FNM), is the Obama administration's choice to oversee the TARP. Now the choice is official and Allison can begin months of frustrating work that will probably offer little reward. The TARP...

The Wall Street Journal reports today that just as the Obama housing rescue plan gets underway, many banks are increasing their number of foreclosures. JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Fannie Mae (FNM), and Freddie Mac (FRE) have all ended their self-imposed moratoriums on foreclosures and are...

Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison is likely to take over from Neel Kashkari, the former Goldman Sachs Group (GS) banker who brought his shiny pate to Congress to get kicked in another part of his anatomy for his handling of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). If approved, Allison's formal title...

Freddie Mac (FRE) continues to lose money at an alarming rate and has asked the federal government for an additional $30.8 billion to fund its activities. The mortgage finance company today reported a net loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 a share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. That...