The $150 billion or so that U.S. taxpayers have spent to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is "gone and won't be coming back," according to former Federal Home Loan Bank Board member Larry White.
Speaking at a GSE forum in Washington, White, who served as a top regulator during the S&L crisis of the 1980s, said the money the Treasury has spent on the GSEs will "not be recovered like the TARP," a reference to certain investments the U.S. Treasury made in ailing banks and other companies that have been repaid.
White also believes the government should move to liquidate the mortgage portfolios of the two companies.
The GSEs have been steadily losing money over the past few years and are due to report their fourth quarter and yearend results at the end of February.
The White House is expected to unveil its recommendations on what to do with Fannie and Freddie when the administration releases its new fiscal budget.
White is now a professor at New York University. The FHLBB became the Office of Thrift Supervision, which is now part of the Comptroller of the Currency.
