国际英语新闻：Freddie Mac seeks $1.8 bln in additional aid

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. mortgage giant Freddie Mac on Monday sought another 1.8 billion dollars in federal aid after reporting huge second-quarter loss.

The company so far has already received more than 60 billion dollars in federal aid since it, together with its sister Fannie Mae, was put under federal control in September 2008.

Freddie Mac suffered a net loss of 6 billion dollars in the second quarter of this year, much larger than a loss of 840 million dollars in the same period last year, but an improvement from the 8-billion loss recorded in a quarter earlier.

The second-quarter loss was partly due to the payment of 1.3 billion dollars in dividend to the Treasury Department for the funds it injected to the company.

"We recognize that high unemployment and other factors still pose very real challenges for the housing market," said Freddie Mac chief executive Charles Haldeman.

"With that in mind, we continue to focus on the quality of the new business we are adding to our book to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds as we support the nation's housing market."

Fannie Mae last week reported a net loss of 1.2 billion dollars in the second quarter, and asked for another 1.5 billion dollars in federal aid on top of around 85 billion dollars it has already received.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled mortgage giants, own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million home loans worth more than 5 trillion dollars