USA: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worker bonuses total US $210 million

AP - Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to pay more than $210 million in bonuses through next year to give workers the incentive to stay in their jobs at the government-controlled companies.

Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to pay more than $210 million in bonuses through next year to give workers the incentive to stay in their jobs at the government-controlled companies.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency recommends gradually shrinking the seized housing-finance giants and creating a new market for mortgage-backed securities.The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wants to shrink the seized housing-finance giants gradually and create a new market for mortgage-backed securities to help the private sector.

It's no wonder that feet dragged when it came to disclosing the specifics of what government-rescued mortgage financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are paying to make sure their employees stick around. It's $210 million. About a fourth already was paid out last year, and another $159 million will be paid out this year and next, according to a letter from the companies' government regulator, James B. Lockhart, who heads the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Hefty windfalls from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could delay efforts by Congress to replace the government-controlled mortgage finance companies.WASHINGTON — Taxpayer-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are back in the black, but it's unlikely to keep the nation's housing finance giants from being dismantled.