Freddie Mac says Lehman owed it over $1.2 billion

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (FRE.N) said on Thursday it has yet to receive payments of more than $1.2 billion due from Lehman Brothers Holdings LEHM.PQ, which went bankrupt after the U.S. government refused to bail out the investment bank.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which was taken over by the government about two weeks ago, said Lehman was due to make principal payments of $1.2 billion plus accrued interest under unsecured lending transactions due to mature Sept 15, the day Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection.

In a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it said Lehman also services single-family loans for Freddie Mac and estimated its potential exposure to Lehman for servicing-related obligations, including repurchase obligations, was about $400 million.

But the mortgage company said it did not know whether or to what extent it will take a loss related to the transactions and noted that actual losses could be materially greater than its estimates.

Freddie Mac said it is in the process of evaluating its exposures to Lehman and its affiliates arising under other business relationships and that until this is complete it could not provide assurances as to the amount of its exposure.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Anshuman Daga)