Fannie Mae Needs Another $7.8B

In a sign that the US housing market is still in deep, deep trouble, Fannie Mae is tapping the Treasury for another $7.8 billion to stay afloat. The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $5.1 billion for the third quarter of this year, its 16th loss in 17 quarters. The company has now cost the Treasury close to $94 billion in bailout funds since the government seized it three years ago, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Results were "significantly affected by continued weakness in the housing market and the economy overall," Fannie Mae's chief executive said. The Treasury has pledged unlimited support for Fannie Mae and its sister firm Freddie Mac—which between them own or guarantee nearly half of US mortgage debt—until the end of next year. Lawmakers from both parties want to eventually wind down both firms, but they have made little progress toward deciding what will replace them. (More Fannie Mae stories.)