Fannie Mae Says It Needs $19 Billion More in Aid

Fannie Mae issued a grave warning about its future on Friday, saying it needed $19 billion in additional government aid as job losses grew and risky loans made in the housing boom went bad at an unnerving pace.

Fannie Mae, a mortgage finance company, received a $15 billion bailout from the federal government in March. In addition to calling for more money, it said it would not be profitable soon.

In a regulatory filing, the company said “there is significant uncertainty as to our long-term financial sustainability.” Even more government aid, it added, “may not be sufficient to keep us in a solvent condition.”

Fannie Mae posted a quarterly loss of $23.2 billion, or $4.09 a share. That compares with a loss of $2.5 billion, or $2.57 a share, in the year-ago period.

The federal government, which seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last September, has already spent about $60 billion to prop up the two struggling companies.

Freddie Mac is expected to release its first-quarter results next week.

The Obama administration has estimated the bill to taxpayers for the two companies will reach $147 billion out of a potential $400 billion government lifeline by the end of September 2010.

James B. Lockhart, the head regulator for the companies, said, “Anything that we can do to stabilize the mortgage market will be to the long-term economic good of the two companies.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a vital role in the mortgage market by purchasing loans from banks and selling them to investors. Together, the companies own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion. That is about half of all American home mortgages.

The two companies lowered their standards for borrowers in the real estate boom and are reeling from the bust. Fannie Mae now has $145 billion in delinquent loans on its books, more than 10 times the amount last year.

In addition, the company said, it was able to recoup less money through foreclosure sales — it owns 62,000 foreclosed properties — because of the sharp drop in home prices. And Fannie Mae expects home prices to decline an additional 4 to 17 percent.