2009 Ultimate Guide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) - Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency Rescue Program, Credit Crisis and Wall Street Meltdown (CD-ROM)

This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on CD-ROM presents an enormous library of documents and publications on the rescue of the two housing finance Government Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with support from the Federal Reserve, placed these two mammoth organizations under federal conservatorship. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac share the critical mission of providing stability and liquidity to the housing market. Between them, the Enterprises have $5.4 trillion of guaranteed mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and debt outstanding, which is equal to the publicly held debt of the United States. Their market share of all new mortgages reached over 80 percent earlier this year, but it is now falling. During the turmoil last year, they played a very important role in providing liquidity to the conforming mortgage market. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made the following comments about the rescue action: "In July, Congress granted the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and FHFA new authorities with respect to the GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since that time, we have closely monitored financial market and business conditions and have analyzed in great detail the current financial condition of the GSEs - including the ability of the GSEs to weather a variety of market conditions going forward. As a result of this work, we have determined that it is necessary to take action. Since this difficult period for the GSEs began, I have clearly stated three critical objectives: providing stability to financial markets, supporting the availability of mortgage finance, and protecting taxpayers - both by minimizing the near term costs to the taxpayer and by setting policymakers on a course to resolve the systemic risk created by the inherent conflict in the GSE structure. Based on what we have learned about these institutions over the last four weeks - including what we learned about their capital requirements - and given the condition of financial markets today, I concluded that it would not have been in the best interest of the taxpayers for Treasury to simply make an equity investment in these enterprises in their current form. The four steps we are announcing today are the result of detailed and thorough collaboration between FHFA, the U.S. Treasury, and the Federal Reserve. We examined all options available, and determined that this comprehensive and complementary set of actions best meets our three objectives of market stability, mortgage availability and taxpayer protection." There is thorough coverage of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), which is now part of the new Federal Housing Finance Agency. Contents include: OFHEO reports to Congress, Performance and Accountability Report, Consumer Information, the new Housing and Economic Recovery Act, HOPE for Homeowners program, and much more.