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.