Bailed-out mortgage giant wants billions more

US mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said today it would need an additional €23.1-26.2bn in government aid as it coped with losses on loans the company backed during the housing crisis.

The company disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it expected its government regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to make the request from the Treasury Department.

It comes on top of the €10.5bn the company received last year after it was seized by the government. Sibling company Fannie Mae has yet to request any such aid but has warned it may need to do so.

Federal regulators seized control of both companies in September after they faced mounting losses from the housing market’s bust.

An agreement with the Treasury Department allows the government to invest up to €75.6bn in each company.

The actual amount of the request will reflect the amount of losses the company sustained in the fourth quarter, Freddie Mac said in the filing.

The request suggests that losses are continuing for Freddie Mac, which posted a loss of €19.2bn for the third quarter.

In that report, Freddie Mac said that rising unemployment rates, tightening credit and deteriorating economic conditions caused the number of delinquent loans to rise, including prime loans made to borrowers with strong credit.