Congress has established a number of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—privately owned financial institutions that are federally chartered to fulfill a public mission of facilitating the flow of funds to housing and other sectors of the economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the two largest GSEs, who together back approximately half of the $11 trillion dollars of outstanding household mortgage debt—have been under federal conservatorship since September 2008. Other current GSEs include the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the Farm Credit System, and Farmer Mac.
Government Sponsored Enterprises
featured work
Fair-Value Estimates of the Cost of Federal Credit Programs in 2013Jun 2012 - CBO provides an illustrative analysis of the federal government’s costs for credit programs following two approaches.
Fair-Value Accounting for Federal Credit ProgramsMar 2012 - CBO examines fair-value accounting as an alternative to the current approach for measuring the costs to the government of federal credit programs.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Role in the Secondary Mortgage MarketDec 2010 - This study looks at how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac evolved into the institutions they are today.
latest work
Federal Programs that Guarantee Mortgages—February 2013 Baseline
data or technical informationFebruary 5, 2013Fair-Value Estimates of the Cost of Federal Credit Programs in 2013
reportJune 28, 2012Should Fair-Value Accounting Be Used to Measure the Cost of Federal Credit Programs?
blog postMarch 5, 2012Fair-Value Accounting for Federal Credit Programs
reportMarch 5, 2012CBO Testified on Several Topics Related to the Government's Mortgage Programs
blog postJune 2, 2011The Budgetary Cost of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Options for the Future Federal Role in the Secondary Mortgage Market
reportJune 2, 2011The Highway Trust Fund and Paying for Highways
reportMay 17, 2011CBO Testified on the Federal Role in Paying for Highways
blog postMay 17, 2011
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