As though Fannie Mae didn’t have enough to look after, they lost $2.4 billion in 4Q2011 and asking the federal government for nearly $4.6 billion in aid to cover its deficit.

Folks keeping track should know that the -$2.4 billion includes a dividend payment to the government of $2.6 billion. Glad to see someone making some coin, but taxpayers have spent more than $150 billion to prop up Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie has received more than $116 billion so far from the Treasury Department, the most expensive bailout of a single company.

“Fannie’s bailout money totaled roughly $16.4 billion in 2011 after accounting for dividend payments. That’s up from about $7.3 billion in 2010 but down from about $32.5 billion in 2009.”

But here is the classic: Fannie officials say losses have increased in recent quarters for two reasons: some homeowners are paying less interest after refinancing at historically low mortgage rates; others are defaulting on their mortgages.