No imminent GSE takeover planned: lobbyist sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has no imminent plans to take over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, financial services lobbyists with close ties to the Bush administration said on Friday.

The comments from the lobbyists underline an earlier statement from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson indicating no immediate bailout was in the works and that the administration prefers to work with Fannie and Freddie in their current form.

Nevertheless, those sources, who included former Bush administration officials, said the Treasury Department has contingency plans to keep Fannie and Freddie from failing, even though they dismissed a New York Times report of a possible government takeover of the companies.

"It isn't imminent and they (administration officials) even say so," said one Republican financial services lobbyist.

Two other sources, including one former Treasury official, said senior administration officials had discussed a bailout of the government-sponsored mortgage companies, but that it was just one of the options under consideration. It also would require more deterioration in the companies' ability to raise capital, both sources said.

(Reporting by Kristin Roberts; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)