Fannie Deal With BofA Faulted by Waters as ‘Giveaway’

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may have shortchanged taxpayers when the U.S.-owned firms settled loan disputes with Bank of America Corp. for $2.8 billion rather than demanding more funds, Representative Maxine Waters said.

“This settlement may have been both premature and a giveaway,” the California Democrat said today in an e-mailed statement. The deal, announced yesterday by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender, may “amount to a backdoor bailout that props up the bank at the expense of taxpayers.”