Tab for Fannie, Freddie could soar to $259 billion
WASHINGTON – The government spelled out last week just how much the most expensive rescue of the financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers – as much as $259 billion for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That figure would be nearly twice the amount Fannie and Freddie have received so far. To date, the rescue of the two companies has cost taxpayers $135 billion. They have repaid $13 billion to the Treasury Department as dividends. By contrast, the combined bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers roughly $50 billion, according to Treasury’s latest projections. And the bailouts of Wall Street banks alone, which sparked public fury, have so far brought taxpayers a $16 billion return. Fannie and Freddie were battered by losses on loans they backed, once the housing bubble burst and foreclosures soared.
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