Fannie Mae needs $3.7 billion infusion of federal cash

The mortgage giant Fannie Mae will need $3.7 billion from the government after losing $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter as a result of the new Republican tax law.

Fannie Mae, which has been under the purview of the federal government since the 2008 financial crisis, has been signaling that it would need the cash infusion for months.

The tax law enacted in December reduced the corporate tax rate and forced Fannie Mae to take on a one-time accounting charge that needs to be offset with the requested money, The Wall Street Journal reported.

{mosads}The $3.7 billion Fannie Mae’s regulator — the Federal Housing Finance Agency — is asking the Treasury Department for would be the first cash grant given to Fannie Mae in six years.

Fannie Mae, as well as Freddie Mac, is supposed to give nearly all of its profits to the government as part of the terms of the government bailout. Last quarter it sent the Treasury Department $648 million.

Since being taken over by the government, Fannie Mae has sent $166.4 billion to the Treasury. It will have received $119.8 billion from the government after the requested infusion, the Journal reported.