Should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Go Private?

U.S. News & World Report: Fairholme Capital Management wants to lead a group in a $52 billion investment to buy insurance businesses from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, highlighting the question of whether the government should play a smaller role in mortgage finance.

The full proposal to buy parts of the government sponsored enterprises, available online, would answer calls from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and from President Barack Obama, for the private sector to play a greater role in the housing finance system, said a statement from Bruce Berkowitz, CEO of Fairholme. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are government-sponsored businesses that buy, sell and guarantee approximately two-thirds of America's housing loans.

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