Freddie faulted on mortgage reviews

A federal watchdog said Freddie Mac may have given up opportunities to recover billions of dollars in claims over defaulted mortgages and suggested that a January settlement with Bank of America Corp. to resolve $1.3 billion in bad-loan claims was inadequate.

The report is to be released Tuesday by the inspector general for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Freddie Mac and its larger cousin, Fannie Mae.

A senior FHFA examiner warned in September 2010, months before the Bank of America settlement, that Freddie "could be passively absorbing billions of dollars in losses."

Freddie faulted on mortgage reviews (subscription required)