WASHINGTON (AP) — Fannie Mae earned $2.2 billion from April through June, its second quarterly gain in net income since being taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.

The mortgage giant attributed the increase to improving home prices and fewer foreclosures.

Fannie said Wednesday that it paid a dividend of $2.9 billion to the Treasury Department and sought no additional aid.

Fannie's net income attributable to common shareholders was 37 cents per share in the second quarter. That compares with a net loss of $5.2 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the same period last year.

"We think home prices have stabilized," Fannie President and CEO Timothy Mayopoulos said in an interview on CNBC.

Fannie has reported gains in net income in both quarters this year. It earned $2.7 billion in the January-March quarter and paid a dividend of $2.8 billion to the Treasury.

The company received about $116 billion from the Treasury Department, the most expensive bailout of a single company. It has so far repaid about $26 billion.

Mayopoulos said he believes the company can be profitable going forward, though that doesn't necessarily mean that Fannie will make enough money to pay a dividend each quarter to the Treasury.

"It's going to depend on home prices," Mayopoulos said.

The housing market has started to recover this year after languishing since the bust in 2006 and 2007. Home sales are higher than last year, although they are still below healthy levels. Home prices are rising in many markets, partly because the supply of homes for sale has fallen. Continued...