WASHINGTON — Buoyed by rising home prices, Fannie Mae on Wednesday posted a $5.1 billion profit from April through June and said that for the second straight quarter it would not need any more bailout money.
The improving real estate market was the main driver of one of the most profitable quarters ever by Fannie, the huge housing finance company that was seized by the government in 2008 along with sister firm Freddie Mac as they neared bankruptcy because of the collapse of the housing bubble.
“While it is too early to declare a national housing recovery, and our results for the second half of 2012 may not be as strong as the first half, we expect our financial results in 2012 to be substantially better than the past few years,” said Fannie Mae chief executive Timothy J. Mayopoulos.
Fannie reported a major drop in anticipated losses from bad loans it bought or guaranteed during the subprime mortgage boom. Because of that, the firm did not have to set aside any additional money for future loan losses.
Fannie Mae’s upbeat earnings followed a similar report Tuesday by Freddie Mac, which posted a $3 billion second quarter profit and also said it would not need more bailout money for that period.
The two companies, which are in government conservatorship and owned by the taxpayers, have received a combined $188 billion in federal money since 2008. Fannie and Freddie have repaid about $46 billion to the Treasury in dividends, leaving taxpayers on the hook for about $142 billion.
