Fannie, Freddie bailout could cost taxpayers $1 trillion

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee almost $6 trillion in mortgages. The cost of fixing them will be the largest US bailout ever.

Fannie Mae (its headquarters sign in Washington is pictured in this 2008 file photo) and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers $1 trillion in bailout money.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/File

June 18, 2010

Things aren’t going well for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. First, the Federal Housing Finance Agency told them to delist from NYSE, and now, the real price tag of fixing the agencies is coming to light.

In an interview below, Anthony Sanders, a professor of real estate finance at George Mason University, who was called to testify before the House Financial Services Committee, says we should be “very concerned” about Fannie and Freddie, which have become a “huge problem” for a nation with ballooning debt.

How big? Fannie and Freddie guarantee almost $6 trillion in mortgages, and the potential cost of fixing them will be the largest US bailout ever, potentially up to $1 trillion.

Of course, back in March Tim Geithner essentially said he was “on it,” but, according to this interview, nothing’s been done.

The interview came to our attention via The Daily Bail.

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