The Trump administration is seeking to sell shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the public stock market, potentially freeing the mortgage finance firms from full federal control. The move could value the companies at around $500 billion collectively and yield tens of billions of dollars.
President Trump has been discussing plans with executives from top banks to execute a deal by the end of the year. The proposed stock sale would allow private capital to infuse the mortgage firms, generating a return on the government’s bailout in 2008. However, it remains unclear how the plan would work and whether Fannie and Freddie would remain under government control.
The companies, which have been controlled by the government since the financial crisis of 2008, remain crucial to the $12 trillion mortgage market. They buy mortgages from banks and package them into securities that are sold to big investors. A public stock offering could help some wealthy investors, including William A. Ackman, who invested in the mortgage firms at discounted prices.
The Trump administration’s plan is still in its early stages, but it has been welcomed by Wall Street banks that would benefit from the deal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously expressed concerns about increasing mortgage rates, which have risen in recent years and constrained housing sales. However, no timeline for the stock sale has been announced yet.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/business/trump-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-mortgages.html