Federal Agency Debt

Here is some additional information on U.S. federal agencies and their debt.  This page is in no way comprehensive- it does not include all of the federal agencies or all significant information on the most prominent ones.  However, hopefully it will guide you to places where more information is available. 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

• Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are the largest housing finance institutions in the U.S.  They are, respectively, the first and second largest purchasers of mortgages, which means that they buy existing mortgages from banks and either hold on to them or repackage them into mortgage backed securities. 
• Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are publicly owned institutions, with shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• Both institutions are exempt from registration requirements of the SEC.
• Who oversees these agencies?  The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO)  This agency, which has regulatory authority over Fannie Mae and Fredie Mac, was established in 1992 as part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  It's regulatory abilities are similar to those of the FDIC and other institutions which monitor other public financial institutions. 

Want to know more? Here are some websites

Fannie Mae   (www.fanniemae.com)

Freddie Mac  (www.freddiemac.com)

OFHEO        (www.ofheo.gov)

Ginnie Mae

• Unlike Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae (the Government National Mortgage Association) is wholly owned by the U.S. government. 
• Its securities therefore carry the same credit rating as those of the U.S. government.  This allows Ginnie Mae to access funds at a much lower rate than comparable publicly held institutions. 
• Ginnie Mae also issues mortgage pass through securities (mortgage backed securities), and guarantees payment to bond holders even if the underlying borrowers (holders of the mortgage) default on their interest or principal payments.  If the underlying borrower does default, then the transfer of funds from the holder of the mortgage to the security's owner is a partial pass through, in that only part of the payment on the mortgage backed security is passed through to bond holders through the agency.  The remaining portion is paid by the agency itself to the holders of the bond (that is, the agency makes up the difference).     

Ginnie Mae    (www.ginniemae.gov)