Freddie Mac seeks additional $6.1 billion after posting $9.9 billion loss

WASHINGTON — Mortgage giant Freddie Mac is looking for $6.1 billion in additional government aid as the cost to taxpayers from the housing market bust keeps growing.

The McLean, Va.-based company, seized by federal regulators in September, on Tuesday posted a loss of $9.9 billion, or $3.14 per share, for the quarter ending March 31. That compared with a loss of $149 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

The results were driven by $8.8 billion in credit losses due to soaring delinquency rates and falling home prices, and $7.1 billion in write-downs of the value of its mortgage-backed securities. More than $63 billion of Freddie Mac's loans were either 90 days overdue or in foreclosure at the end of March, nearly triple year-ago levels.

The request for federal aid is Freddie Mac's third since the takeover, for a total of about $51 billion.

Sibling company Fannie Mae last week requested $19 billion in additional government aid, bringing the total for both companies up to $85 billion out of a potential $400 billion government lifeline.

"This was another difficult quarter for Freddie Mac, as declining home prices and the weak economy continued to take a toll on our results," Freddie Mac's interim chief executive, John Koskinen, said in a statement.

But he said there were "preliminary signs of slowing in home price declines as low mortgage rates and high affordability take hold."

The White House budget office estimates the tab for rescuing the two companies will reach $173 billion.

Freddie Mac said it helped around 40,000 borrowers stay in their homes in the first quarter, through refinancing and loan modification programs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a vital role in the mortgage market by purchasing loans from banks and selling them to investors. Together, the companies own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion. That's about half of all U.S home mortgages.

The two companies lowered their standards for borrowers during the real-estate boom and are reeling from the bust.