Gov ' t: Banks should share Fannie Freddie costs
Freddie Freddie
Fannie and Freddie buy mortgages and package them into securities with a guarantee against default.
 Fannie and Freddie have a legal right to return bad loans  especially if they later discover fraudulent statements on applications. Any money they recover offsets their losses.
 A bigger headache for lawmakers is figuring out what to do with Fannie and Freddie in the future.
 The Obama administration is working on a plan to restructure the mortgage market and make sure home loans are affordable. Officials don't plan to release details until next year. But Michael Barr  an assistant Treasury secretary  told the panel Wednesday that Fannie and Freddie "will not exist in the same form as they did in the past."
 Republicans have seized on the administration's management of Fannie and Freddie to illustrate Democrats' push for broadening the reach of the federal government. They say loans acquired by Fannie and Freddie since the September 2008 takeover have put taxpayers at risk.
 But Democrats and regulators say the loans acquired by Fannie and Freddie before their takeover represent the overwhelming majority of the companies' losses. New loans acquired since then have been performing well  they note.
 "There is no urgency " to reform the two companies  said Rep. Barney Frank  the committee's chairman. "The pattern of abuse they had engaged in has been changed...Fannie and Freddie are behaving differently and are causing far less problems."
Fannie and [TGT] buy mortgages and package them into securities with a guarantee against default.
 Fannie and [TGT] have a legal right to return bad loans  especially if they later discover fraudulent statements on applications. Any money they recover offsets their losses.
 A bigger headache for lawmakers is figuring out what to do with Fannie and [TGT] in the future.
 The Obama administration is working on a plan to restructure the mortgage market and make sure home loans are affordable. Officials don't plan to release details until next year. But Michael Barr  an assistant Treasury secretary  told the panel Wednesday that Fannie and [TGT] "will not exist in the same form as they did in the past."
 Republicans have seized on the administration's management of Fannie and [TGT] to illustrate Democrats' push for broadening the reach of the federal government. They say loans acquired by Fannie and [TGT] since the September 2008 takeover have put taxpayers at risk.
 But Democrats and regulators say the loans acquired by Fannie and [TGT] before their takeover represent the overwhelming majority of the companies' losses. New loans acquired since then have been performing well  they note.
 "There is no urgency " to reform the two companies  said Rep. Barney Frank  the committee's chairman. "The pattern of abuse they had engaged in has been changed...Fannie and [TGT] are behaving differently and are causing far less problems."