Fannie Mae will repay taxpayer bailout with $7.2 billion dividend

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae posted net income of $6.5 billion from October through December, its eighth straight profitable quarter. Fannie will have repaid its full government bailout after paying its fourth-quarter dividend.

Fannie said Friday its 2013 profit of $84 billion was boosted by rising home prices and an accounting move capitalizing on tax benefits it had accumulated from losses on mortgages during the financial crisis.

The fourth-quarter profit compares with net income of $7.6 billion in the same period of 2012.

Fannie will pay a dividend of $7.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury next month. With its previous payments totaling about $114 billion, it will have more than fully repaid the $116 billion it received from taxpayers.

The government rescued Fannie and sibling Freddie Mac during the crisis in 2008.

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