Fannie Mae was owned by the federal government until Congress privatized us in 1968 and chartered us as a private, stockholder-owned corporation. This has turned out to be one of the wisest public policy decisions Washington has ever made. Our business model is fairly simple. We issue debt to raise capital from Wall Street and capital markets around the world, and use it to purchase mortgages from lenders so that they can make more. By guaranteeing this steady flow of capital, in good economic times and bad, Fannie Mae helps to keep conventional mortgage rates the lowest in the entire housing market.
Lower rates save consumers money, and allow more families to afford to buy a home.
But that's just the beginning, because liquidity alone is not enough to make homeownership available to every family - especially families who face unique barriers such as wealth, income, misinformation and even discrimination. Fannie Mae is a private company, but we have a public mission to expand homeownership and affordable rental housing. We mean every word of our corporate mission statement. Our mission is to tear down barriers, lower costs and increase the opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing for all Americans. Because having a safe place to call home strengthens families, communities and our nation as a whole.