Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
Fannie Mae, the enormous, expensive, and pointless government-sponsored mortgage bank, is getting more expensive for all of us. From the AP:
Fannie Mae asked the government Friday for an additional $8.5 billion in aid after declining home prices caused more defaults on loans guaranteed by the mortgage giant.
The company said it lost $8.7 billion in the first three months of the year. Those losses led Fannie to request more than three times the federal aid it sought in the previous quarter. The total cost of rescuing the government-controlled mortgage buyer is nearing $100 billion - the most expensive bailout of a single company.
We're supposed to be winding Fannie and Freddie down. But there's no end in sight:
"We expect our credit-related losses to remain elevated in 2011 as we continue to be negatively impacted by the prolonged decline in home prices," President and CEO Michael Williams said in a statement.
Ah. So they're going to "remain elevated," are they. Just like our taxes.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
I wonder what job Michael Williams held before he became President and CEO. Nothing to do with Democratic politics, surely.
Aug '10
Re: Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
I went to their website and scanned the resumes of the executives, and was I surprised to see the changes that I think Kennedy was speaking of. No more Jamie Gorelick or Franklin Raines. Other than a couple of Citicorp guys, the group looked pretty professional. Among the highlights, a former Whitewater investigator, a guy with an MBA, an MD, and a BS, two guys that looked like twins, and even one person who risen thru the ranks. I'm pretty skeptical and super-skeptical about this once corruption-riddled mess. Maybe these are the shutdown team, they better be.
There's no more money folks, move along, nothing to see here.
Dec '10
Re: Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
The terms winding down and shutdown do not seem to apply. Aren't these two entities now responsible for 98% of all home mortgages, now? It appears to be the case that you cannot get a home mortgage, now, unless it is backed by them (us).
They're not going anywhere.
Aug '10
Re: Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
CJRun: The terms winding down and shutdown do not seem to apply. Aren't these two entities now responsible for 98% of all home mortgages, now? It appears to be the case that you cannot get a home mortgage, now, unless it is backed by them (us).
They're not going anywhere. · May 9 at 2:47pm
Where did you get the 98% number ? Man that is really bad news. I am 2/3 of the way through the Big Short and haven't tripped across that chasm yet.
Sep '10
Re: Fannie and Freddie: Not Dead Yet
Remember when Enron seemed like such a scandal? Oh what happy, innocent days. Maybe a few more regulations will take care of it.
Edited on May 9, 2011 at 7:55pm