The Congress has established a number of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—privately owned financial institutions that are federally chartered to fulfill a public mission of facilitating the flow of funds to housing and other sectors of the economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two largest GSEs, backing or holding about half of the $11 trillion of outstanding residential mortgage debt; those institutions have been under federal conservatorship since September 2008. The other GSEs are the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the Farm Credit System, and Farmer Mac. CBO analyzes the effects of the GSEs on the federal budget and on the sectors they are chartered to support.
Government Sponsored Enterprises
featured work
Modifying Mortgages Involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Options for Principal ForgivenessCBO examined three options for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use principal forgiveness for certain underwater borrowers. How would those options affect the number of mortgage defaults, the federal budget, and the overall economy?
Fair-Value Estimates of the Cost of Federal Credit Programs in 2013Jun 2012 - CBO provides an illustrative analysis of the federal government’s costs for credit programs following two approaches.
Fair-Value Accounting for Federal Credit ProgramsMar 2012 - CBO examines fair-value accounting as an alternative to the current approach for measuring the costs to the government of federal credit programs.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Role in the Secondary Mortgage MarketDec 2010 - This study looks at how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac evolved into the institutions they are today.
latest work
Options for Principal Forgiveness in Mortgages Involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Working Paper 2013-02
working paperMay 1, 2013Modifying Mortgages Involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Options for Principal Forgiveness
reportMay 1, 2013Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Future of the Secondary Mortgage Market
blog postApril 4, 2013Federal Programs that Guarantee Mortgages—February 2013 Baseline
data or technical informationFebruary 5, 2013Fair-Value Estimates of the Cost of Federal Credit Programs in 2013
reportJune 28, 2012Should Fair-Value Accounting Be Used to Measure the Cost of Federal Credit Programs?
blog postMarch 5, 2012Fair-Value Accounting for Federal Credit Programs
reportMarch 5, 2012CBO Testified on Several Topics Related to the Government's Mortgage Programs
blog postJune 2, 2011
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