Reuters) - U.S. government-owned mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could send about $179.2 billion in profits to taxpayers over the next 10 years if the terms of their bailout remain intact, the White House budget office said on Monday.
The amount is more than triple the estimated 10-year payments calculated last year in the White House budget proposal, driven by the companies' increased profitability.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have operated under federal conservatorship since 2008, when regulators agreed to inject capital into the companies to keep them afloat.
They received $187.5 billion in taxpayer funds, but they have returned to profitability and by the end of March they will have had paid $202.9 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury.
http://www.reuters.com/...
Remember all that stuff about toxic assets, Geithner's incompetence? Obama's naive, hapless approach? Me too.