U.S. mortgage giant Freddie Mac on Friday reported a modestgain in its net income for the fourth quarter of last year, reversing the huge loss in the previous quarter.The government-controlled company achieved a profit of 619 million U.S. dollars in the last three months of 2011, compared to a net loss of 4.4 billion dollars in the previous quarter. It also reported a total comprehensive income of 1.5 billion dollars for the fourth quarter.The shift from a net loss to net income reflected lower derivative losses due to a smaller decline in long-term interest rates during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the decrease in the provision for credit losses regarding single-family loans also contributed to the earnings.For the full year of 2011, Freddie Mac experienced a net loss of 5.3 billion dollars, much less than a net loss of 14 billion dollars in 2010.To offset the deficit of 146 million dollars as of Dec. 31, 2011, Freddie Mac sought the same amount of aid from the Treasury Department, pushing the aggregate government support funding up to over 72 billion dollars.Freddie Mac and its sibling company Fannie Mae have survived on Treasury aid since September 2008, when they were put under conservatorship by the federal government after suffering from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.The two companies own or guarantee about half of all mortgages in the United States, or nearly 31 million home loans. Along with other federal agencies, they have backed nearly 90 percent of new mortgages over the past few years.
