Charities may suffer on regulator's move

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The fate of charitable donations made by faltering U.S. mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is under review, a government official said.

Regulators seized control of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association Sunday, an historic move that put billions of taxpayer dollars at risk.

But, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were frequent contributors to politicians and charities, The Hill newspaper reported Wednesday.

Regulators at the Federal Housing Finance Agency said the political contributions would stop. Donations to charity, however, were under review, agency director James Lockhart said.

Many of the firms' charitable donations could be deemed political in nature, The Hill reported.

Freddie donated $40,000 donation to help pay for five community centers in South Carolina, one of which is named for Rep. James Clyburn.

The firm also gave $25,000 to the Marketplace for Entrepreneurs, a group that is tied to Sen. Kent Conrad, The Hill reported.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have frequently given money to the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Muriel Cooper, a black caucus spokeswoman, said the donations have contributed to the education of black students through internships and scholarships.