Fannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury Department $2.2 billion after reporting a net income of $2 billion for the third quarter.
The company, which was seized along with smaller rival Freddie Mac during the 2008 financial crisis, will have returned $144.8 billion in dividends to the federal government, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.
Under the conservatorship, the two mortgage-finance firms are required to turn over all profits above a minimum net worth threshold. The payments count as a return on the U.S. investment and not as repayment of the aid, leaving no existing mechanism for them to exit government control.
White House housing adviser Michael Stegman in September dismissed investor calls to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He said he is sticking to keeping them under U.S. control and doesn't see a path out of conservatorship any time soon.
The heads of both companies were granted pay increases in July from a flat $600,000 to as much as $4 million a year, after FHFA authorized the raises. The Senate passed legislation in September that would restore the executives' pay at the previous levels. The House is expected to approve a similar bill this month.
Freddie Mac reported on Nov. 3 its first quarterly loss since 2011 mostly from accounting for hedges against interest-rate risk. The company reported a half-billion dollar loss for the third quarter.
