BUSINESS BRIEFING / LENDING

Freddie Mac escaped the second fiscal quarter without asking the government for any new financial aid, but still expects to need more federal help in the future.

The government-controlled mortgage finance company posted a quarterly loss of $374 million, or 11 cents a share, including $1.1 billion in dividends paid to the government. Excluding those payments, it would have earned $768 million. In the year-ago period, it lost $1.05 billion, or $1.63 a share.

The McLean, Va.-based company was able to maintain a positive net worth of $8.2 billion in the quarter ended June 30. As a result, Freddie did not need to seek funding from the Treasury Department, which has provided it $51 billion since the takeover in September.