US mortgage buyer settles with SEC

A US mortgage buyer is to pay a $50m settlement fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission following allegations that it manipulated earnings for three years.

The SEC said that Freddie Mac is also set to pay $800,000 in penalties for improperly managed earnings between 1998 and 2002, Marketwatch.com reported.

'Freddie Mac's departure from proper accounting practices was the result of a corporate culture that sought stable earnings growth at any cost,' said Linda Thomsen, the SEC's enforcement director, in a statement.

The company has neither denied nor admitted the allegations.

Further reading:

Freddie Mac Pays $50M to Settle Charges

Freddie Mac agrees $50m penalty

Freddie Mac to Pay $50 Mln to Settle Fraud Charges