MO' MONEY!

Fannie Mae said yesterday it would need an additional $8.4bn in aid, as the US government-controlled mortgage finance company continued to suffer heavy losses on its bad loans.

The company lost $13.1bn, or $2.29 a share, in the first quarter, including a $1.5bn dividend paid to the Treasury on senior preferred stock issued as part of the government-led bail-out. That compares with a loss of $23.2bn in the same quarter a year ago and $16.3bn in the 2009 fourth quarter.

Fannie Mae's appeal for help comes on the heels of a similar plea last week by smaller rival Freddie Mac, which asked for an additional $10.6bn cash infusion. The latest requests for aid bring the total amount of taxpayer dollars drawn down by these companies to $148bn since the 2008 government-led bail-out.