Released: September 09, 2008

Mortgage giants’ future: rebuild or teardown

Source: Stephen Labaton & Edmund L. Andrews, N.Y.Times (Free Registration)

A day after the government seized control of the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, policy makers and Congress began what promises to be an epic political fight over how to revamp the companies once the current crisis ends.

Democratic lawmakers and Bush administration officials also engaged in a round of finger-pointing over who should take the most blame for the crisis at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lawmakers and government officials said it could be a year or longer before the next Congress and the new president settle on a new role for the companies. But on Monday, the battle lines were already being drawn by three predictable camps over the fate of the companies.

Even before going into conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie were unique hybrids, and the envy of their rivals. 

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