Richard Syron, Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive, on Tuesday sounded like a man backed into a very uncomfortable corner.

On a heated conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s $2bn third-quarter loss, Mr Syron said he was disappointed that Freddie, the second largest buyer of US home loans, was preparing to slash its dividend by as much as 50 per cent and issue new preferred shares or take other steps to raise capital.