Freddie Mac posts $993M profit in 2Q; paying $933M dividend

The company said Tuesday its income from fees received from lenders for guaranteeing mortgages increased in the April-through-June period, but it sustained losses on investments because of the decline in interest rates.

The government rescued Freddie and larger sibling Fannie Mae at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008, after they suffered huge losses from risky mortgages in the housing market bust.

Record-low interest rates this year have helped spur home purchases and boost the housing market.

The Federal Reserve has been holding its key short-term rate near zero since 2008, and a statement from the Fed last Wednesday after its latest policy meeting had led many economists to conclude that a strengthening economy would lead the central bank to resume raising rates as soon as September.

Despite the low borrowing rates that could lure prospective homebuyers, the market has remained hampered by tight mortgage credit, rising home prices and stagnating incomes.