Freddie Mac loses $151M in 1Q as home loans falter

Freddie Mac says its first quarter loss widened to $151 million as the U.S. housing market worsened, though the results were not as poor as expected.

McLean-Va.-based Freddie Mac also said Wednesday it plans to raise $5.5 billion in new capital. Freddie Mac is the second-largest buyer and backer of home loans.

The quarterly loss at Freddie Mac was larger than a loss of $133 million in the January-through-March period last year. The results were equivalent to a loss of 66 cents a share, compared with 35 cents a share a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected the government-sponsored company to lose 92 cents a share on average in the latest period