Fannie, Freddie losses could last to ’09

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the struggling mortgage giants, could report net losses into the first quarter of 2009, analysts say. Freddie is expected to report today that it had $1.9 billion in credit-related costs in the second quarter, while Fannie will report $2.4 billion, according to Credit Suisse analyst Moshe Orenbuch. The Times reports that Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron rejected warnings that the company was headed towards financial trouble, according to more than two dozen former and current Freddie executives. Freddie’s former chief risk officer told Syron the company was buying bad loans that “would likely pose an enormous financial and reputational risk to the company and the country” in 2004. [Bloomberg] and [NYT]