Treasury removes cap for Fannie and Freddie aid

NEW YORK – The government has handed its ATM agenda to abandoned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion cyberbanking cap on the money it will accommodate to accumulate the companies afloat. Already, taxpayers accept shelled out $111 billion to the pair, and a arch Treasury official said losses are not accepted to beat the government's appraisal this summer of $170 billion over 10 years.

Treasury Department admiral said it will now use a adjustable blueprint to ensure the two agencies can angle abaft the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed balance they advertise to investors. Beneath the formula, cyberbanking abutment would access according to how abundant anniversary abutting loses in a quarter. The cap in abode at the end of 2012 would administer thereafter.

By authoritative the change afore year-end, Treasury sidestepped the charge for an OK from a bailout-weary Congress.

While best analysts say the companies are absurd to use the abounding $400 billion, Treasury admiral said they absitively to lift the caps to annihilate any ambiguity amid investors about the government's commitments. But the timing of the advertisement on a commonly apathetic account day aloft eyebrows.

"The companies are boilerplate abutting to application the $400 billion they had before, so why do this now?" said Bert Ely, a cyberbanking adviser in Alexandria, Va. "It's accessible we may see some abominable numbers for the fourth division and, appropriately 2009, and Treasury wants to calm the markets."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accommodate basic clamminess to the mortgage industry by purchasing home loans from lenders and affairs them to investors. Together, they own or agreement about 31 actor home loans account about $5.5 trillion, or about bisected of all mortgages. Afterwards government aid, the firms would accept gone broke, abrogation millions of bodies clumsy to get a mortgage.

The better headwind adverse the apartment accretion has been the acceleration in foreclosures as unemployment charcoal high. The two companies, adverse ascent losses from mortgage defaults, were taken over by the government in September 2008 beneath the ascendancy of a law Congress anesthetized in the summer of 2008.

So far the government has provided $60 billion to Fannie Mae and $51 billion to Freddie Mac. The abetment is actuality provided in barter for adopted banal advantageous a 10 percent dividend. The Bush administering aboriginal apprenticed up to $100 billion in abutment for anniversary company, an aggregate that was angled to $200 billion for anniversary by the Obama administering in February.

Treasury admiral will accommodate an adapted appraisal for Fannie and Freddie losses in February aback President Barack Obama sends his 2011 account to Congress. Though the administering has yet to acknowledge its abiding affairs for the two companies, they are absurd to acknowledgment to their above ability and influence.

The account followed an advertisement Thursday that the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie could get paid as abundant as $6 actor for 2009, admitting the companies' afflictive performances this year.

Fannie's CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie CEO Charles "Ed" Haldeman Jr. anniversary will accept $900,000 in salary, $3.1 actor in deferred payments abutting year and addition $2 actor if they accommodated assertive achievement goals, according to filings with the Balance and Barter Commission.

The pay bales were accustomed by the Treasury Department and the Federal Apartment Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie.

That pay is far beneath than what their predecessors earned. Above Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd accustomed $10.2 actor in 2008 and above Freddie CEO Richard Syron pocketed $13.1 million. Both advisers were ousted aback federal regulators bedeviled the companies in September 2008. The federal government blocked avenue bales for the brace account up to $24 million.

The arch executives' pay could atom new criticism about the government's abundant bailouts, but that may be unfounded, said Mark Borges, arch with administering consulting abutting Compensia.

Haldeman and Williams anniversary could command amid $5 actor and $10 actor in a agnate position in the clandestine sector, Borges estimated, and afterwards the notable challenges and accessible analysis they face at these companies.

"I agnosticism too abounding bodies would attending at these jobs and say, 'Gosh, I would adulation to go there for my abutting career move,'" Borges said. "The government is accepting top cleft admiral to break problems that are not accessible to solve."

The aggregate of their pay is additionally not guaranteed, Borges said, so these admiral can't abridged and run and charge accommodated assertive abiding goals or accident giving some of it back.

Freddie Mac's lath sets the achievement goals for the arch executive, which won't be appear until abutting year. Fannie Mae's filing categorical its accumulated goals including "being a accustomed baton in the apartment recovery," "protecting taxpayers," and "managing accident added effectively."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beneath to action added capacity on CEO achievement goals.

Public acrimony over Wall Street pay above over beforehand this year. In response, the Obama administering imposed pay curbs on banks that accustomed government bailouts. All the above banks accept back repaid their federal money, abundantly to escape caps on controlling pay.

Former Bank of America Corp. CEO Ken Lewis, for example, agreed to abandon his bacon and benefit this year beneath burden from the government. Aftermost year, he pocketed added than $9 actor in absolute compensation. Bank of America accustomed $45 billion in government assistance, which it has back repaid.

Freddie Mac assassin Haldeman, a above alternate armamentarium executive, in July. At the time, the aggregation appear his anniversary bacon of $900,000 but did not acknowledge added allurement payments. In September, the aggregation assassin a new arch cyberbanking officer, Ross Kari, and said his pay amalgamation would be account up to $5.5 million.

Williams, aforetime Fannie Mae's arch operating officer, took over as CEO in April afterwards the aboriginal government-appointed CEO, Herbert Allison, took a job at the Treasury Department. Williams becoming a abject bacon of $676,000 aftermost year, additional a assimilation accolade of $260,000.

Washington-based Fannie Mae was created in 1938 in the after-effects of the Great Depression. It was privatized 30 years after to absolute account deficits during the Vietnam War. In 1970, the government formed its affinity and adversary McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac.

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AP Real Estate Reporter Alan Zibel and AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger in Washington contributed to this report.