By Marcy Gordon
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Freddie Mac is paying a $125 million civil fine and is being threatened with curbs on its growth as federal regulators blame management misconduct for the mortgage giant's $5 billion misstatement of earnings.

In a report issued Wednesday, regulators accused the government-sponsored company of violating its public trust.

A pliant board of directors and a system of compensating executives tied to annual earnings targets also contributed to the accounting crisis at Freddie Mac that has brought the ouster of four top executives since early June, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight found in its months-long investigation.

Freddie Mac agreed to pay the record fine in a settlement with the federal agency announced Wednesday.

The agency, which supervises Freddie Mac and its larger rival, Fannie Mae, in the home mortgage market, cited "a pattern of inappropriate conduct and improper management of earnings" at the company and even "a disdain for appropriate disclosure standards" among former top executives.

The second-largest U.S. buyer of home mortgages "disregarded accounting rules, internal controls, disclosure standards, and ultimately, the public trust in pursuit of steady earnings growth," the agency's report found.

Its director, Armando Falcon, told reporters the agency already is considering imposing on both mortgage companies new requirements recommended in the report, including splitting the chairman and chief executive positions and limiting directors' terms.

Another recommendation is to restrain the growth of Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio if it fails to disclose its financial situation more quickly and accurately - a prospect likely to unnerve shareholders.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were created by Congress to pump money into the home mortgage market, by buying home loans from banks and other lenders and bundling them into securities for sale on Wall Street. The corporations, whose stock is publicly traded, have grown explosively in recent years and are among the nation's largest financial institutions.

Freddie Mac's settlement with the regulators still leaves to be resolved a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and a civil inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission.