The federal government will take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, our largest and most troubled mortgage finance companies, with an estimated taxpayer price tag of $25 billion (one source told the New York Times that the number was a modest guestimate, though). In one of the county’s most expensive bailouts, the government can put up $100 billion for each company should they need cash — they handle about half of the country’s mortgages — and will encourage them to shrink their holdings; the Treasury can buy the two companies outright for a small pricetag, and is already changing the management team. The Fed sees the buyout as the silver bullet for the housing crisis, and already foreign markets have rallied since the announcement. Will it work, do you think?
In Rescue, U.S. Takes Over Mortgage Finance Titans [NY Times]
Fannie Mae. Photo by NCinDC.