What Are Freddie Mac And Fannie Mae? Why Are They Important?

• Fannie Mae was established in 1938 to enhance mortgage lending in response to the Great Depression.
• Freddie Mac was created in 1970 to broaden the secondary mortgage market and encourage competition.
• They’re still controlled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), even as Washington debates what their future should look like.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two major government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that help keep the U.S. mortgage market running. They guarantee most of the country’s home loans and play a big part in making mortgages easier and cheaper to obtain.

For decades, they operated as private, shareholder-owned companies under federal oversight. However, the situation changed during the 2008 financial crisis, when both were placed into government conservatorship. They’re still controlled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), even as Washington debates what their future should look like.

Those discussions resurfaced recently after former President Donald Trump said he is giving “very serious consideration” to taking the companies public again.

How Do They Work?

The core job of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is to buy mortgages from lenders such as banks, mortgage companies, and credit unions. They either keep those loans or bundle them into mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that investors can buy. When lenders sell mortgages to the GSEs, they get cash back, which they can use to make new loans.

This recycling of capital helps keep mortgage funding flowing and supports the widespread availability of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a product not commonly found in many other countries.

Key Differences Between Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac

Though their missions are similar, the two were established at different times and with subtle market differences. Fannie Mae was created in 1938 to enhance mortgage lending during the Great Depression. Freddie Mac followed in 1970 to broaden the secondary market and increase competition.

Historically, Fannie Mae has worked more with large commercial banks, while Freddie Mac has sourced more loans from smaller regional banks and credit unions. Fannie's portfolio tends to focus more on single-family homes, whereas Freddie has a more extended history of buying loans tied to multi-unit properties. Regardless of the difference, only loans that meet strict GSE standards, known as conforming loans, qualify for their guarantee.

What Is Implicit Guarantee?

For years, investors assumed that if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac ever ran into trouble, the U.S. government would step in. That unspoken belief, known as the “implicit guarantee,” proved true in 2008 when the Treasury provided about $190 billion to rescue both firms. They paid back those funds by 2014, but they remain under conservatorship, with strict oversight of their capital and dividends.

How and when the GSEs might leave government control remain open questions. Trump’s recent comments about potentially taking them public again have pushed the issue back into the spotlight, raising fresh debate about how much risk the private market should bear and what role Washington should play in supporting the mortgage system.

Also See: What Is Purchasing Manager’s Index?

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