“It is going to be a close question,” Koskinen, who was tapped to run Freddie Mac’s board after the government seized control of the company and larger rival Fannie Mae in September, said.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are trying to operate in a deteriorating housing market that has spurred a jump in loan delinquencies. Following a record boom, home prices are down 25 percent on average since mid-2006 amid a tightening of lending standards and an economic slowdown, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite 20-city price index.

“If the markets start to come back, our draws will be less,” Koskinen said. “If the markets continue to deteriorate and if we are asked to take on more economically costly programs, then we will need more revenues and support from the government.”

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are the largest sources of mortgage money in the US, owning or guaranteeing a combined $5.2 trillion of the $12 trillion home-loan market.

As part of the takeover, the Treasury said it would invest as much as $100 billion into each company as needed if the value of their assets drops below the amount they owe on obligations. Fannie Mae said January 26 it would need as much as $16 billion in aid after losses on mortgage loans and a decline in the market value of assets drove its net worth below zero last quarter.

Source: Bloomberg