A senior US Treasury official has welcomed Freddie Mac's efforts to continue raising capital from private -investors after a -government rescue plan for the troubled mortgage firm and its sister company Fannie Mae was announced.

David Nason, assistant secretary for financial institutions and a key aide to Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, told the FT: "The fact that these organisations are still trying to think creatively about ways to raise private capital is a positive."