Mortgage giant Fannie Mae posts $4.6B profit in 2Q; paying $4.4B dividend to government

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported net income of $4.6 billion from April through June, up from $3.7 billion a year earlier. Rising interest rates enabled Fannie to post gains on the investments it uses to hedge against swings in rates.

The second-quarter results released Thursday marked the 14th straight profitable quarter for the government-controlled company.

Washington-based Fannie said it will pay a dividend of $4.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury next month. With that payment, Fannie will have paid a total $142.5 billion in dividends.

Fannie received $116 billion from taxpayers during the financial crisis in September 2008. The government rescued Fannie and smaller sibling Freddie Mac after they suffered huge losses from risky mortgages in the housing market bust.