Rising Tab for the Mortgage Mess

The bailout of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRD), already the largest on record, could reach $1 trillion. Fannie and Freddie, 80 percent-owned by taxpayers, hold or guarantee 53 percent of the nation's $10.7 trillion in residential mortgages. Their federal regulator is having them delist their shares, which have been trading for about $1 each, from U.S. stock exchanges. As of Mar. 31, borrowers were late on $338.4 billion worth of loans, up from $206.1 billion a year earlier. The companies have drawn $145 billion from an unlimited government line of credit. Here are four estimates of the final bill.

The White House Office of Management & Budget made this estimate in February, saying that a strengthening U.S. economy could bolster the housing market and that the companies could earn enough to begin paying dividends to the government in 2012.