Fannie, Freddie post $10.2bn in Q1 profits

Driven for the most part by income from legal settlements Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw combined profits of $10.2 billion last quarter,.

Fannie Mae saw net income of $5.3 billion in the first quarter, according to a Reuters report. That includes $4.1 billion from legal settlements over various banks’ sales of  mortgage-backed securities. Freddie Mac, meanwhile, posted $4.0 billion,  including $4.9 billion from litigation over mortgage-backed securities. The  first quarter was Freddie’s 10th consecutive profitable quarter.

All told, Fannie and Freddie will return $10.2 billion in first-quarter dividends to the Treasury. By the end of June, the companies will have returned $213.1 billion to the government.

The mortgage finance giants got $187.5 billion in government aid after being placed under conservancy at the height of the financial crisis. Under the terms of the conservancy, Fannie and Freddie must turn their profits over to the Treasury as dividend payments.