Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended 2018 with a combined portfolio of mortgage debt that’s worth $5.5 trillion. That’s more than half of the $10.4 trillion in outstanding home mortgage debt nationwide.
Founded by Congressional charter decades ago as a method to keep mortgage funds flowing nationwide, the duo has been under federal conservatorship since 2008 — amidst a housing crisis that played a key role in touching off the Great Recession.
More than a decade later, the Trump administration released a plan to privatize the two companies and adjusting its relationship with the federal government. That process would likely take some time, and in the meantime, the companies remain under federal control.
