Defending Fannie
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the housing market could not function without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The housing market cannot function without the support of the federal government and its captive mortgage-finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this week. Geithner spoke at a Treasury conference convened to generate ideas for reworking the government role in the mortgage market.
Several economists and financial executives at the conference argued for abolishing Fannie and Freddie, which currently buy two-thirds of U.S. mortgages. The government has spent more than $150 billion to cover their losses. Geithner favors revamping the companies, arguing that mortgage lending would dry up in their absence.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
June 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use