March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance company thrust into a leading role in President Barack Obama’s homeowner rescue plans, said it will tap an additional $30.8 billion in federal aid after loan holdings and other assets deteriorated.

More capital may be needed, and the $200 billion in total financing pledged by the U.S. Treasury may not be enough, the McLean, Virginia-based company said today in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Freddie, which owns or guarantees more than 20 percent of U.S. home loans, posted a wider fourth- quarter net loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 a share.

“These numbers are so mind-boggling,” said Paul Miller, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia. “You can’t even begin to analyze it.”

Freddie and larger competitor Fannie Mae, which together account for about $5.2 trillion of the $12 trillion U.S. residential mortgage market, are part of Obama’s plan to help 9 million Americans avoid foreclosure amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.

The federal government took control of the companies on Sept. 6, and has been pressuring management to offer low-cost mortgage refinancings and waive some loan standards to help curb foreclosures. The conflicting demands of appeasing regulators and pursuing profit may have led Chief Executive Officer David Moffett to leave after six months on the job, Miller said.

“They want these guys to refi mortgages without new appraisals and to keep mortgage rates very low,” Miller said. “Those are not sound business decisions. They are being used as a public policy tool to save the housing market. That is just going to make it more difficult for them to be floated out as public companies down the road.”

Housing Slump

Freddie earlier today named non-executive Chairman John A. Koskinen, 69, as interim CEO, and said it would work with its conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to find a permanent replacement for Moffett.

The company said its net worth, or the difference between assets and liabilities, declined to negative $30.6 billion as of Dec. 31 from negative $13.7 billion on Sept. 30. Freddie took $13.8 billion in aid from the Treasury in November. The year-ago fourth-quarter loss was $2.4 billion, or $3.97 a share.

Freddie’s ability to return to profitability depends on how long the government keeps using the company to push its housing agenda, Miller said.

Washington-based Fannie said Feb. 26 it would draw $15.2 billion in Treasury capital and raised the possibility of asking for more after posting a $25.2 billion fourth-quarter net loss.

‘Deteriorating Effect’

The Obama administration on March 4 said a program using Fannie and Freddie to refinance as many as 5 million loans would have the companies buy mortgages on properties that have less than 20 percent equity without requiring new appraisals or additional mortgage insurance.

The plan also requires the two government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, to pay mortgage servicers and borrowers fees to modify troubled loans. Fannie said in its earnings statement that the costs “ will be substantial, and these programs would therefore likely have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and net worth.”

U.S. Representative Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican, said in a statement last week that the refinancing program violates the law and will “have a deteriorating effect on the GSEs, which will result in a higher risk to the taxpayer.”

Writedowns, Losses

Fannie and Freddie were chartered by the government -- and later sold to shareholders -- primarily to lower the cost of homeownership. The companies buy mortgages from lenders, freeing up cash at banks to make more loans. They profit on the difference between their cost of borrowing and the yield on the debt. They also guarantee and package loans as securities for a fee.

Their losses have surged as the U.S. recession cut property values, boosted foreclosures and slowed home sales. In the fourth quarter, Freddie took a $7.2 billion provision for credit losses and expenses, up from $6 billion in the third quarter, and had $13.3 billion in net mark-to-market writedowns mostly because the value of derivatives, mortgage assets and guarantees declined.

FHFA put the companies under its control and forced out management after examiners said the two may be at risk of failing. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, speaking before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington today, called Fannie and Freddie’s growth and collapse “perhaps the largest regulatory failure of all time.”

Moffett Leaves

The Treasury in September pledged to buy $100 billion of each company’s preferred stock as needed when the value of their assets drops below the amount they owe on obligations. On Feb. 18, it doubled that funding commitment.

Moffett, 57, was tapped by regulators to be CEO. The former Carlyle Group executive who was once vice chairman of U.S. Bancorp, “indicated that he wants to return to a role in the financial-services sector,” Freddie said March 2.

Koskinen, a former deputy director of the White House budget office, was also brought in after the takeover to restructure the board and help with oversight of the company. He will return to his position as non-executive chairman once a permanent CEO is found. Director Robert Glauber is filling in as chairman.

Fannie and Freddie shares, which were above $30 in March 2008, have been trading at less than $1 since December. Freddie closed today at 42 cents in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Fannie was at 39 cents.

Treasury Dividend

Fannie and Freddie have to pay the Treasury a 10 percent annual dividend for access to the federal aid. The cost, which is paid out only if the companies are profitable, will drag down earnings and prolong the companies’ recovery even if the housing market eventually turns around, said Rajiv Setia, a fixed-income strategist at Barclays Capital in New York.

Freddie said the dividend on its original request of $13.8 billion will cost it $1.5 billion annually. If Fannie and Freddie’s losses leave them unable to pay, the unpaid amount will be added to the total outstanding balance of Treasury’s senior investment, and the dividend rate will increase to 12 percent.

The government-run conservatorships won’t end until the mortgage market recovers and the companies regain profitability, FHFA Director James Lockhart said in a Feb. 19 interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dawn Kopecki in Washington at dkopecki@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 11, 2009 18:36 EDT