Fannie Mae Case

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The Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, was founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal. It is a government-sponsored enterprise, though it has been a publicly traded company since 1968. The corporation's purpose is to expand the secondary mortgage market by securitizing mortgages in the form of mortgage-backed securities, allowing lenders to reinvest their assets into more lending and in effect increasing the number of lenders in the mortgage market by reducing the reliance on thrifts. In the 1968 change, Fannie Mae's predecessor was split into the current Fannie Mae and the Government National Mortgage Association "Ginnie Mae". Ginnie Mae had the federal backing while Fannie Mae appeared to have federal backing. There was no written documentation, no contract, and no official promise that the government would bail it out. The industry, government officials, and investors simply assumed it to be so. Fannie Mae made money partly by borrowing for low rates, and lending at higher rates. It borrowed by selling bonds, and lent by creating mortgages and mortgage backed securities which it held on its own books. Since its implied government guarantee…show more content…
Unlimited access to bailout funds through 2012. So far, Treasury has provided $60 billion of capital to Fannie and $51 billion to Freddie. Some Republicans are angry the administration is expanding the potential size of the bailout without having a plan for eventually ending the federal government's role in the companies. The companies disclosed new packages that will pay Fannie Chief Executive Officer and Freddie CEO as much as $6 million a year, including bonuses. The pay deals also drew fire. With unemployment near 10%, "to be handing out $6 million bonuses to essentially federal employees is unreasonable," said a Texas

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