How Much More for FanFred?

Ed Pinto, a former Fannie Mae executive from decades ago, who has emerged as a harsh critic of the GSE and its sister company, Freddie Mac, has an update about what may lie ahead for the two: "I have found that many are under the impression that the government's backing of the GSEs ends on 12-31-12 and, as a result, resolution of the GSEs' status needs to be accomplished well before that date. This is not correct. On a combined basis the Treasury Department may advance approximately $274 billion to the GSEs after 2012." (The key word here is 'after.') To date, Treasury has contributed roughly $150 billion of taxpayer money into Fannie and Freddie to keep their net worth positions in the black. Next Tuesday, Treasury will hold its first public forum on the future of our nation's housing finance system with Fannie/Freddie as 'Topic A.'