The U.S. Treasury will receive a massive cash payment of $14.6 billion by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next month following robust second-quarter earnings, leaving the two GSEs potentially within a quarter or two of reaching the point where their dividend payments equal the massive bailout provided to them by taxpayers. The period ending June 30, 2013, saw Fannie reporting $10.1 billion in net income, the company’s sixth consecutive quarterly profit, while Freddie posted $5.0 billion in net income. The second quarter was Freddie’s seventh straight profitable quarter and its second largest in company history. Under the revised conservatorship agreement rolled out a year ago by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department, any GSE net worth exceeding $3.0 billion is impounded by the government.
The creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund could grease the skids for an end to the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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