What Happened To The “Shut Down Fannie And Freddie” Movement? (Both Fannie And Freddie Are GROWING Their Retained Portfolios)

I spoke at the American Action Forum in Washington DC on the future of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Speaking with me was Laurie Goodman from The Urban Institute. Laurie loves Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and argued passionately against shutting them down. I argued to shrink their retained portfolios to zero and privatize them.

When Trump was elected President for the second time and the House of Representatives was controlled by Republicans, there was hope that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be privatized. But alas, it was not to be.

In fact, the retained portfolios for Fannie Mae (left) and Freddie Mae (right) are increasing, not decreasing.

Here is my House of Representatives testimony on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

We are going in the wrong direction under GSE regulator Bill Pulte.