Bank charters, on the other hand, give them federal deposit insurance, access to the discount window, exemption at the bank level from SEC registration and other benefits. Chairman Greenspan has estimated that having a federal charter can lower a bank's funding costs by 10-12 basis points. Banks also have access to the same agency market funding Fannie Mae has through their membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Thousands of institutions have public charters that provide public benefits to help them achieve a public purpose. Fannie Mae's benefits go toward one very specific mission, and that is funding residential mortgages in all communities, under all economic conditions, even when other financial institutions are withdrawing from that market.
People have some funny ideas about our business.
Some believe Fannie Mae invests in many different kinds of assets, when over 98 percent of our portfolio are simple residential mortgages or short-term liquid assets. Or they think we own most of the mortgages in America, and we dominate the market. But in fact we own only about 10 percent of the mortgages. To put that in context, Bank of America owns about 10 percent of all bank assets in the country. Fannie Mae exists to help the financial system make it easier for the average American to buy a home.