To help make credit more available and affordable for borrowers, the federal government provides assistance in the form of loans and loan guarantees. Such credit assistance—which is projected to consist of $228 billion in new direct loans and $1.6 trillion in new loan guarantees in 2025, at an estimated cost of $2 billion—exposes the federal government to financial risk. In some cases, the gov¬ernment shares that risk with private lenders or investors.

In this report, CBO examines ways in which the federal government and private entities share the risk involved in various federal credit programs, including those related to home mortgages, small businesses, and project financing.