Mortgage giant Freddie Mac posts $2.1B profit in 3Q; paying $2.8B dividend to government

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac posted net income of $2.1 billion for the July-through-September period. The government-controlled company has turned a profit in each of the past 12 quarters.

Freddie's third-quarter profit reported Thursday was far smaller than the $30.5 billion it earned in the same period of 2013. But the year-earlier amount reflected an accounting move that allowed Freddie Mac to capitalize on tax benefits it had saved up from its losses on mortgages during the financial crisis.

McLean, Virginia-based Freddie also said it will pay a dividend of $2.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury next month. Freddie will have paid $91 billion in dividends, exceeding its government bailout of $71.3 billion.

The government rescued Freddie and larger sibling Fannie Mae in September 2008.