Fannie Mae says it will miss deadline for filing 2004 report
BC-Fannie Mae,0405
Fannie Mae says it will miss deadline for filing 2004 report
By MARCY GORDON
AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae, whose accounting is under investigation by federal agencies, disclosed Thursday that it will miss the regulatory deadline for filing its financial report for 2004.
The company, which is the biggest U.S. buyer of home mortgages, recently was ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to restate its earnings back to 2001, a correction that could reach $9 billion or more.
In a filing with the SEC late Thursday, the government-sponsored company said it would not be able to meet the March 31 deadline for filing the annual report and was unable to provide estimates of its earnings for 2003 and 2004.
Fannie Mae shares fell 4.3 percent, or $2.45, to close at $54.50 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, setting a new 52-week low. They lost another 20 cents in extended trading.
The latest downturn in Fannie Mae's fortunes since its accounting crisis came to light last September came as news emerged that federal regulators had found cases of company employees falsifying signatures in ledgers and improperly altering database records.
