The top executives of U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as $6 million for 2009, despite the companies' dismal performance this year.

Fannie's CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie CEO Charles “Ed” Haldeman Jr. each will receive $900,000 in salary, $3.1 million in deferred payments next year and another $2 million if they meet certain performance goals, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The pay packages were approved by the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie and Freddie, which were seized by regulators in September 2008, have needed $111 billion in taxpayer money to stay afloat.

The news of the chief executives' pay could spark new criticism about the government's numerous bailouts.