Trump and Congress should turn their focus to Fannie and Freddie
By Robert Broeksmit, opinion contributor — 09/08/18 01:30 PM EDT It has been 10 years since the financial crisis. The Great Recession was born largely from the housing crisis, the bursting of a home price bubble, which had been fed by loose mortgage credit.
A key moment in the crisis came with the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that were the backbone of the housing finance system and provided billions of dollars of liquidity to the mortgage market.
As growing mortgage delinquencies and loan losses threatened the GSEs’ financial condition and their ability to continue to fulfill their mission, their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), placed them under conservatorship in September of 2008, effectively moving them under government control.
They were given capital support and a substantial line of credit with the Treasury to ensure their solvency.
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http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/405618-trump-and-congress-should-turn-their-focus-to-fannie-and-freddie
