Fannie Mae
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA U.S. government-sponsored enterprise that provides liquidity to the residential mortgage market by purchasing, guaranteeing, and securitizing home loans.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Fannie Mae, formally the Federal National Mortgage Association, is a U.S. government-sponsored enterprise established in 1938 during the New Deal. Its purpose is to support the secondary mortgage market rather than make most home loans directly to consumers. The company purchases qualifying mortgages from banks, mortgage companies, and other lenders, pools them into mortgage-backed securities, and guarantees timely payment of principal and interest to investors subject to the terms of its securities. By returning cash to lenders, this model enables them to originate additional mortgages and helps maintain the availability of long-term fixed-rate housing finance across the United States. The organization was created in response to the housing and banking distress of the Great Depression, when widespread unemployment and mortgage defaults weakened local lenders and made home finance scarce. In its early decades, Fannie Mae primarily supported loans insured by federal housing programs. Legislative changes in 1954 created a mixed-ownership structure, while the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 divided the former organization into Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae. Fannie Mae became a privately held, publicly traded corporation, whereas Ginnie Mae remained a federal government entity that guarantees securities backed by federally insured or guaranteed loans. In 1970, Fannie Mae received authority to purchase conventional mortgages, and Freddie Mac was created to increase competition in the secondary market. Fannie Mae's central business lines are single-family and multifamily mortgage finance. Its single-family activities support mortgages secured by one- to four-unit properties, including conventional conforming loans, refinancing, affordable-housing programs, and products intended to assist borrowers with limited down payments or nontraditional credit profiles. Its multifamily business finances apartment buildings and other rental housing through mortgage purchases, guarantees, and specialized lending programs. Fannie Mae also provides underwriting standards, data, technology, risk-management tools, and market infrastructure used by lenders and investors. The institution became deeply associated with the U.S. mortgage crisis. During the 1990s and early 2000s, policymakers encouraged the government-sponsored enterprises to expand support for low- and moderate-income borrowers and underserved communities. At the same time, Fannie Mae faced competition from private-label securitizers and pressure to maintain earnings and market share. The housing downturn, rising defaults, falling property values, accounting controversies, and uncertainty over mortgage-credit risk severely weakened the company. In September 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency placed Fannie Mae into federal conservatorship, and the U.S. Treasury provided financial support under a senior preferred stock purchase agreement. Fannie Mae remains a publicly traded company, but its common and preferred securities have operated under the consequences of conservatorship and Treasury arrangements since 2008. It continues to perform a major role in the U.S. housing-finance system, purchasing and guaranteeing mortgages and issuing or supporting mortgage-backed securities. Its long-term status, capital structure, and possible release from conservatorship remain matters of public policy and regulatory debate. The company is therefore both a commercial mortgage-finance enterprise and a systemically important institution operating under unusually close federal oversight.
History
Fannie Mae was created by Congress in 1938 as part of the New Deal response to the Great Depression. Mortgage lending at the time was frequently short term, depended on local savings institutions, and was vulnerable to widespread defaults and bank failures. The new organization, initially called the National Mortgage Association of Washington, supplied a secondary source of funds for lenders by purchasing federally insured mortgages. This helped banks replenish their balance sheets and extend more housing credit. For roughly three decades, Fannie Mae had a dominant position in the secondary mortgage market. In 1950 it became part of the Housing and Home Finance Agency. The Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act of 1954 changed its ownership structure into a mixed corporation, with government-held preferred stock and privately held common stock. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 then separated the former entity into two organizations. Fannie Mae became a privately held, publicly traded corporation, while Ginnie Mae remained within the federal government and retained an explicit full-faith-and-credit guarantee. The change also removed Fannie Mae's activities from the federal budget. In 1970, legislation authorized Fannie Mae to purchase conventional mortgages that were not insured by the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration, or other federal programs. Freddie Mac was established during the same period to provide competition. Fannie Mae went public in 1970 and developed the mortgage pass-through market, issuing its first mortgage-backed security in 1981. Securitization became the company's defining mechanism: mortgages acquired from lenders were pooled, securities were sold to investors, and Fannie Mae guaranteed the scheduled payments. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 formally directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support affordable housing while remaining financially sound. The Department of Housing and Urban Development received authority to establish housing goals for the enterprises, including goals relating to low- and moderate-income borrowers and underserved areas. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Fannie Mae faced pressure to broaden access to mortgage credit. It also faced increasingly strong competition from private-label securitization sponsored by investment banks. The pre-crisis market produced conflicting incentives. Fannie Mae maintained standardized underwriting rules and traditionally focused on conforming mortgages, but pressure to protect market share and meet policy objectives contributed to broader risk-taking. Private-label securitizers expanded rapidly and packaged increasingly complex and risky loans, including adjustable-rate and low-documentation products. As home prices declined and defaults increased after 2006, the value of mortgage assets and guarantees deteriorated. Fannie Mae also faced investigations into accounting irregularities and the reliability of reported earnings. In September 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency placed Fannie Mae into conservatorship. The Treasury entered into a senior preferred stock purchase agreement and supplied capital support intended to preserve the company's ability to perform its housing-finance function. The intervention made Fannie Mae one of the central institutions in the federal response to the financial crisis. Its common and preferred shares continued to trade, but the company operated under federal control and subject to Treasury and FHFA terms. After the crisis, Fannie Mae concentrated on restoring operational stability, supporting the conforming mortgage market, improving credit-risk management, and expanding affordable-housing and rental-housing programs. It introduced risk-transfer structures intended to move some mortgage credit exposure to private investors while retaining its guarantee and market-making role. The company continues to purchase and guarantee mortgages, issue mortgage-backed securities, and support single-family and multifamily lending. Because no comprehensive legislative replacement for the government-sponsored-enterprise system has been enacted, Fannie Mae's conservatorship, capitalization, and eventual institutional structure remain unresolved.
- 2022
Priscilla Almodovar becomes chief executive officer
[10]Priscilla Almodovar took over as chief executive during the continuing conservatorship period.
- 2015
HomeReady introduced
[6]Fannie Mae introduced HomeReady to expand conventional mortgage access for eligible low- and moderate-income borrowers.
- 2014
HomeReady launches
[4]Fannie Mae launches HomeReady to provide more flexible financing for qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers.
- 2008
Federal conservatorship begins
[2]FHFA places Fannie Mae under conservatorship during the mortgage and financial crisis, with Treasury support provided through a senior preferred stock arrangement.
- 2008
Placed into federal conservatorship
[2]The Federal Housing Finance Agency placed Fannie Mae into conservatorship during the financial crisis, with Treasury support provided through a senior preferred stock arrangement.
- 1992
Affordable-housing obligations are formalized
[1]Federal legislation gives Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac explicit affordable-housing responsibilities and establishes housing goals.
- 1981
First Fannie Mae mortgage pass-through
[1]The company issues its first mortgage-backed security based on pooled mortgage loans.
- 1970
Conventional mortgages and public trading
[1]Fannie Mae receives authority to purchase conventional loans, and its shares begin public trading. Freddie Mac is created as a separate competitor.
- 1970
Freddie Mac created as a separate competitor
[5]Congress established the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, creating a second major conventional-mortgage housing-finance enterprise.
- 1968
Fannie Mae becomes a private corporation
[1]The former Fannie Mae is divided into Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae; Fannie Mae becomes privately held while Ginnie Mae remains a government agency. Legislation separated Fannie Mae from the federal government and established the modern shareholder-owned government-sponsored-enterprise structure.
Products and positioning
A systemically important secondary-market housing-finance institution focused on liquidity, standardization, mortgage-credit availability, and affordable housing in the United States.
Mortgage finance · 1938
Single-Family Mortgage Finance
Fannie Mae purchases or guarantees qualifying mortgages secured by one- to four-unit residential properties. The business supports conventional fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans, refinancing, affordable lending, and standardized underwriting. By buying loans from approved lenders, Fannie Mae supplies funding that lenders can recycle into new originations.
Securitization · 1981
Mortgage-Backed Securities
Fannie Mae pools eligible mortgages into securities and guarantees scheduled principal and interest payments to investors under the applicable program terms. These securities connect global capital markets with U.S. residential lending and allow mortgage originators to reduce the amount of credit and interest-rate exposure retained on their own balance sheets. Fannie Mae issues or guarantees mortgage-backed securities backed by pools of eligible residential mortgages. The guarantee structure is designed to provide investors with predictable payment administration and liquidity, while allowing lenders to sell loans into a broad capital-markets ecosystem. These securities are a core mechanism through which Fannie Mae connects mortgage originators, servicers, investors, and housing demand.
Commercial mortgage finance
Multifamily Finance
The multifamily platform supports financing for apartment buildings and rental housing through approved lenders and specialized execution channels. It includes standard and affordable-housing transactions and is intended to preserve access to stable, long-term financing for rental properties.
Affordable mortgage · 2014
HomeReady
HomeReady is an affordable conventional mortgage program for eligible borrowers. It is designed to accommodate lower down payments, qualifying income from permitted sources, and other features intended to improve access to homeownership while retaining documented underwriting and repayment standards. HomeReady is a Fannie Mae conventional mortgage program aimed at eligible creditworthy borrowers, particularly those with low-to-moderate incomes or limited down-payment resources. Program features may include reduced down-payment requirements, flexible sources of funds, and provisions designed to recognize qualifying household income. Availability and terms depend on current Fannie Mae selling-guide requirements and lender participation.
Mortgage finance · 1938
Single-family mortgage acquisition and guarantee
Fannie Mae purchases eligible residential mortgages from approved lenders and may guarantee the associated mortgage credit or mortgage-backed securities. Its eligibility, underwriting, documentation, and servicing standards are intended to create a standardized market for conventional conforming loans. The business supports fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage products within applicable program limits and helps lenders convert originated loans into new lending capacity.
Multifamily mortgage finance
Multifamily financing
Fannie Mae provides financing and liquidity for apartment and other qualifying multifamily properties through a network of lenders and delegated partners. Its multifamily platform supports conventional rental housing as well as selected affordable, workforce, senior, and specialized housing segments. Financing structures can include mortgage purchases, guarantees, and securitization, subject to property, borrower, underwriting, and regulatory requirements.
Mortgage underwriting technology
Desktop Underwriter
Desktop Underwriter is Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system. It helps participating lenders evaluate borrower and loan characteristics against Fannie Mae eligibility and risk criteria, producing an underwriting recommendation and supporting documentation requirements. The system has been an important part of the standardization and automation of conventional mortgage origination, although lenders remain responsible for complying with applicable law and selling-guide requirements.
Risk-management and capital-markets product · 2013
Credit-risk-transfer transactions
Fannie Mae's credit-risk-transfer program shifts portions of mortgage credit risk from the enterprise to private investors or insurers through structured transactions and related arrangements. The program is intended to reduce taxpayer exposure, diversify risk-bearing capacity, and provide market information about mortgage credit risk while preserving Fannie Mae's role in mortgage securitization.
Controversies
2008
Mortgage-crisis failure and conservatorship
Falling house prices, rising delinquencies, mortgage-market losses, and concerns about the companies' capital position led FHFA to place Fannie Mae into conservatorship. The federal intervention became a major feature of the U.S. financial-crisis response.
2008
Housing-finance crisis and federal conservatorship
Severe mortgage-market losses and concerns about the enterprises’ capital and systemic importance led to federal conservatorship and Treasury support. The episode remains one of the defining controversies in the structure and regulation of U.S. housing finance.
2004
Accounting and earnings-management controversy
Fannie Mae faced regulatory findings and public criticism concerning accounting practices, internal controls, earnings recognition, and the conduct of senior management. The controversy led to restated financial results, leadership changes, and intensified efforts to reform oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises.
2004
Accounting and internal-control investigations
Regulators and investigators criticized Fannie Mae’s accounting practices, internal controls, reporting, and governance. The episode resulted in enforcement actions, restatements, leadership changes, and heightened oversight of the enterprise’s risk-management and financial-reporting systems.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015HomeReady
United States
A product-led affordability initiative designed to broaden access to conventional mortgage credit for qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers.
Outcome. The program became a continuing component of Fannie Mae’s affordable-lending platform, subject to changing eligibility and underwriting rules.
- 2014HomeReady
United States
Fannie Mae introduced HomeReady as an affordable-lending program aimed at creditworthy low- and moderate-income households and communities historically underserved by mortgage finance. The program became an ongoing part of Fannie Mae's affordable single-family product set.
Outcome. The program became an ongoing part of Fannie Mae's affordable single-family product set.
- Duty to Serve
United States
Fannie Mae participates in the federally defined Duty to Serve framework, which focuses on improving mortgage-market access for manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural communities. The initiative is implemented through plans, research, partnerships, and mortgage-market activities overseen within the federal housing-finance framework.
Outcome. The initiative is implemented through plans, research, partnerships, and mortgage-market activities overseen within the federal housing-finance framework.
Brand decisions
2015
Launch HomeReadyProduct launchBackground
Fannie Mae sought to address affordability barriers while maintaining a conventional mortgage product within its underwriting and risk framework.
Action taken
The company introduced HomeReady with features intended to support qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers and borrowers with limited down-payment resources.
Aftermath
HomeReady became one of Fannie Mae’s continuing affordable-lending offerings.
- Freddie Mac — Freddie Mac maintained and developed its own affordable conventional mortgage products, including Home Possible.
2014
Launch HomeReadyProduct launchBackground
Fannie Mae sought to improve access to conventional mortgage credit for qualified borrowers with limited resources.
Action taken
The company launched HomeReady with flexible eligibility and affordability features.
Aftermath
HomeReady became an ongoing affordable-mortgage offering.
2013
Expand credit-risk-transfer activityStrategyBackground
Following the financial crisis, federal housing-finance policy encouraged the enterprises to reduce the amount of mortgage credit risk retained on their balance sheets and increase private-market participation.
Action taken
Fannie Mae developed and expanded structured and insurance-related credit-risk-transfer transactions.
Aftermath
The program became an important risk-management tool, although Fannie Mae continued to retain significant responsibilities in mortgage acquisition, securitization, servicing oversight, and guarantee administration.
- Freddie Mac — Freddie Mac developed comparable credit-risk-transfer programs for its own mortgage portfolio and guarantees.
2008
Enter federal conservatorshipOtherBackground
Fannie Mae faced acute losses and market instability during the housing and financial crisis, while policymakers sought to preserve mortgage-market functioning and prevent a disorderly failure.
Action taken
The Federal Housing Finance Agency placed the enterprise into conservatorship and Treasury provided support through a senior preferred stock purchase agreement and related arrangements.
Aftermath
Fannie Mae continued operating under federal oversight, with its long-term ownership and capital structure left unresolved. Federal oversight, Treasury contractual rights, and restrictions associated with conservatorship reshaped governance and shareholder economics. Fannie Mae continued operating as a major mortgage-market institution.
- Freddie Mac — Freddie Mac was placed into a parallel federal conservatorship as part of the government’s broader response to the housing-finance crisis.
1970
Expand into conventional mortgage financeStrategyBackground
The secondary mortgage market needed broader coverage beyond federally insured loans.
Action taken
Fannie Mae received authority to purchase conventional mortgages, while Freddie Mac was created to provide competition.
Aftermath
Conventional mortgage purchases became a core part of Fannie Mae's business model.
1968
Separate government-guarantee and secondary-market functionsStrategyBackground
The federal government sought to separate explicit government-backed mortgage guarantees from Fannie Mae's secondary-market activities and remove the latter from the federal budget.
Action taken
Fannie Mae was converted into a privately held corporation, while Ginnie Mae retained its government role.
Aftermath
The structure established the modern distinction between Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae and preceded Fannie Mae's public-market expansion.
Recent events
Reported
Optimal Blue direct lock functionality integrates with Fannie Mae PE – Whole Loan platform[11]
Optimal Blue announced that its direct lock functionality now integrates with Fannie Mae's Pricing & Execution – Whole Loan (PE – Whole Loan) platform, enabling lock desk users to execute eligible Fannie Mae best-efforts locks within their existing product and pricing workflows by submitting lock requests directly from Optimal Blue's PPE into Fannie Mae's system.
Reported
Fannie Mae reports winning bidders for reperforming loan sale[12]
Fannie Mae announced the results of its twenty-fourth reperforming loan sale transaction, involving 7,970 loans totaling $1.3 billion in unpaid principal balance. PIMCO won Pools 1 and 2, and MCLP Asset Company, Inc. (Goldman Sachs) won Pool 3; the transaction was expected to close on April 18, 2022.
Reported
Lincoln Avenue Capital acquires Cityside Huntington Metro Apartments[13]
Lincoln Avenue Capital announced it had acquired a 569-unit affordable housing property in Alexandria, Virginia, with financing from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund and Fannie Mae provided through Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. The property will retain rent restrictions for 99 years.
Reported
Fannie Mae appoints Chryssa C. Halley as CFO and promotes Jim L. Holmberg to Controller[14]
Fannie Mae announced Chryssa C. Halley's appointment as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Jim L. Holmberg's promotion to Senior Vice President and Controller. Both appointments were effective November 29, 2021; David C. Benson stopped serving as interim CFO.
Reported
New American Funding receives Fannie Mae STAR award[15]
New American Funding was recognized by Fannie Mae with the Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards award for General Servicing 2020; the company said it was its first time being honored in the General Servicing category.
Reported
Fannie Mae appoints two board members and extends a board term[16]
Fannie Mae appointed Simon Johnson and Christopher J. Brummer to its Board of Directors and extended Robert H. Herz's board term through June 2024.
Reported
Ivalua and its customers receive procurement awards[17]
Ivalua, alongside customers Sprint and Fannie Mae, received the innovations in third party management award and innovations in digitisation award, respectively.
Reported
Fannie Mae markets sale of reperforming loans[18]
Fannie Mae began marketing a sale of approximately 22,700 reperforming loans with an unpaid principal balance of approximately $3.4 billion. The sale was marketed in collaboration with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., and bids were due November 5, 2019.
Sources19 sources
- 1Fannie Maeen.wikipedia.org
- 2Federal Housing Finance Agency: Conservatorshipfhfa.gov
- 3Fannie Mae: Leadershipfanniemae.com
- 4HomeReady Mortgagesinglefamily.fanniemae.com
- 5Federal Housing Finance Agency: History of FHFA and the Enterprisesfhfa.gov
- 6Fannie Mae: HomeReady Mortgagesinglefamily.fanniemae.com
- 7Fannie Mae: Credit Risk Transferfanniemae.com
- 8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Fannie Mae enforcement materialssec.gov
- 9Federal Housing Finance Agency: Duty to Servefhfa.gov
- 10Fannie Mae names Priscilla Almodovar Chief Executive Officerfanniemae.com
- 11Optimal Blue直接锁定功能与Fannie Mae PE–Whole Loan平台完成集成housingwire.com
- 12房利美公布重新履约贷款出售的中标方prnewswire.com
- 13Lincoln Avenue Capital 收购 Cityside Huntington Metro Apartmentsprnewswire.com
- 14房利美任命Chryssa C. Halley为首席财务官并晋升Jim L. Holmberg为财务总监prnewswire.com
- 15New American Funding获得房利美STAR奖prnewswire.com
- 16房利美任命两名董事并延长一名董事的任期prnewswire.com
- 17Ivalua及其客户获得采购奖项supplychaindigital.com
- 18房利美启动再履约贷款出售营销prnewswire.com
- 19Fannie Mae Announces Winner of its Latest Non-Performing Loan Saleprnewswire.com
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