The government-backed mortgage lender Fannie Mae found one more violation of accounting rules relating to the classification of securities of its portfolio.

The release of earnings for Fannie Mae was delayed once again amid the new violations found in the company accused of accounting fluff with its smaller sibling Freddie Mac about a year ago. That means that restating of last year’s results is pended again. The earnings for Fannie Mae were not reported for periods beyond the first half of 2004.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said in its filing that Fannie Mae’s practice "generally is not permitted" under an accounting rule known as FAS 115, relating to the classification of securities. The practice allowed Fannie Mae to transfer securities from "held-to-maturity" status to "available-for-sale" status.

Last year, SEC said that Fannie Mae violated accounting rule involving derivatives, financial contracts the company uses to hedge against interest-rate risks. The ruling is estimate to result in a $10.8-billion loss on derivatives as part of its restatement of results since January 2001.