Changes

'''Fannie Mae'''  is the common name for the '''Federal National Mortgage Association''' ('''FNMA''').<ref>[http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1529/ Blaming Fannie and Freddie], Ben Zimmer, ''Visual Thesaurus'', September 16, 2008</ref> Fannie Mae is a company that deals with the secondary [[mortgage]] market. It is a [[New Deal]] agency founded by the U.S. government to provide increased liquidity for mortgages. Although remaining a government sponsored entity (GSE), the company began selling stock to the public in 1968. Fannie Mae has been described as middle class welfare.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-01/middle-class-welfare-state-invisible-by-design-commentary-by-ezra-klein.html Middle-Class Welfare State Is Invisible by Design,] Ezra Klein, ''Bloomberg'', 2012-03-01.</ref>

'''Fannie Mae'''  is the common name for the '''Federal National Mortgage Association''' ('''FNMA''').<ref>[http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1529/ Blaming Fannie and Freddie], Ben Zimmer, ''Visual Thesaurus'', September 16, 2008</ref> Fannie Mae is a company that deals with the secondary [[mortgage]] market. A secondary mortgage market means the government purchases, or re-imburses the original lender for the value of the principal so the original lender doesn't have to wait 30 years to collect the money it lent out, and create a new loan faster with to original principal. FNMA then packages loans together of similiar value and  credit worthiness and resells them to investors, such as pension funds, etc. FNMA is a [[New Deal]] agency founded in 1938 by the U.S. government which did more to benefit big [[Wall Street]] banks than the common man by allowing them to re-lend the same money over and over again versus ordinary folks who could scarcely afford a home during the [[Great Depression]].

 

Although remaining a government sponsored entity (GSE), the company began selling stock to the public in 1968. Fannie Mae has been described as middle class welfare.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-01/middle-class-welfare-state-invisible-by-design-commentary-by-ezra-klein.html Middle-Class Welfare State Is Invisible by Design,] Ezra Klein, ''Bloomberg'', 2012-03-01.</ref>

The company and its reputation were kept alive by the US Government (along with [[Freddie Mac]]) after making billions in loans available to borrowers with demonstratively poor credit histories. Many individuals and pension funds globally, who bought into the illusion of safety and security in a government backed entity, were wiped out when it faltered. It was placed in the [[conservator]]ship of another government sponsored enterprise, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in September 2008, for mismanaging its affairs. It currently guarantees against default about $5 trillion in mortgages of American homeowners—nearly half of all mortgages in the [[United States]].

The company and its reputation were kept alive by the US Government (along with [[Freddie Mac]]) after making billions in loans available to borrowers with demonstratively poor credit histories. Many individuals and pension funds globally, who bought into the illusion of safety and security in a government backed entity, were wiped out when it faltered. It was placed in the [[conservator]]ship of another government sponsored enterprise, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in September 2008, for mismanaging its affairs. It currently guarantees against default about $5 trillion in mortgages of American homeowners—nearly half of all mortgages in the [[United States]].