Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, said early indications of its second-quarter results show it probably has enough capital to remain above the 20 percent mandatory surplus demanded by the federal agency that regulates it, Bloomberg reported.

The company isn’t under any mandate to raise more than the $5.5 billion in capital it agreed to earlier this year with its regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Freddie Mac said in a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing was a step toward becoming fully registered, removing a hurdle to selling stock and fulfilling an agreement made six years ago with Congress.

Since 1970, Freddie Mac has been exempt from registering its common stock and debt securities with the SEC because of its government-chartered status. The company, under pressure from lawmakers, agreed in 2002 to register its stock, a plan that stalled when Freddie Mac’s auditor uncovered $5 billion in accounting errors and forced an overhaul of internal controls.

Freddie Mac’s stock lost 64 percent of its value during the past month and the larger Fannie Mae declined 56 percent on concern the two companies may not have enough capital to survive the housing slump.

Freddie Mac’s plan to raise cash might help it avoid an immediate government rescue and stricter oversight that would come with such a bailout, The Wall Street Journal said, citing people it didn’t identify.

The companies’ stock slumps prompted U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to announce a rescue plan on July 13 seeking authority to buy equity in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and increase a credit line to the companies should they request it. The Federal Reserve agreed to lend directly to the companies.