For an overview of the GSEs and the mortgage boom: see Christopher Mayer’s outstanding piece from the May 2001 issue of The Free Market. He writes: “Less well-known, the GSEs enjoy subsidies. (See “Freddie, Fannie Subsidies Up Sharply, Lawmaker Says” by Kathleen Day and Sandra Fleisman in the January 5, 2001 Washington Post.) The Post reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac receive about $10 billion per year in federal subsidies. The GSEs are exempt from state and local income taxes, and they do not have to file financial information with the SEC. These subsidies have come under fire recently because competitors such as Citigroup and GE Capital say that it gives the GSEs an unfair advantage.”
Backgrounder on Freddie
