July 26, 2010Time to Wind Down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
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 fm2 President Barack Obama signed new reforms into law last week that should rein in some of Wall Street's most wanton behavior – well, at least until bright financial minds devise new loopholes. But Congress can't consider this work complete until it tackles two more looming threats to another economy-rattling mortgage meltdown. Those would be Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two part-government, part-private lenders that were more than bit players in the crisis. The new law left Fannie and Freddie untouched, even though they racked up huge losses during the housing crash, ultimately requiring massive taxpayer bailouts and a government takeover. At $160 billion and rising, these costs could prove to be the largest hits to taxpayers resulting from the crisis. Related Topics: economy, financial reform, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
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