Fannie Mae Earns $1.9B in the First Quarter

Fannie Mae will pay the Treasury Department $1.8 billion after reporting net income of $1.9 billion for the first quarter.

The company, which was seized along with smaller rival Freddie Mac during the credit crisis in 2008, will have returned $138.2 billion to the federal government after it makes the payment next month, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.

"This was another quarter of strong financial performance," Timothy Mayopoulos, Fannie Mae's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "While we experienced some interest rate volatility again this quarter, we expect to remain profitable on an annual basis for the foreseeable future."

Under terms of their conservatorships, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are required to turn over all profits above a minimum net worth threshold. The payments count as a return on the U.S. investment and not as repayment of the aid, leaving them no existing path out of U.S. control.