The exterior of The exterior of Fannie Mae?s headquarters in Washington, D.C. | Getty Images

It?s part of a broader push by the Trump administration to end government control of the two mortgage facilitators The Trump administration announced today that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored mortgage facilitators, can keep their own profits for the first time since getting bailed out by the federal government during the financial crisis in 2008.
Until now, Fannie and Freddie funneled the vast majority of their profits to the Treasury Department as a way of paying back the $191 billion bailout that kept the two companies afloat and put them under government control. They have since paid back the bailout money and contributed an additional $115 billion to Treasury?s coffers. This move is significant because it?s the first big step toward releasing the two companies from government control and putting them back in private hands. During the height of the housing bubble in 2006, Fannie and Freddie issued less than half of all mortgage bonds; investment banks and other financial institutions accounted for the rest.
Today, Fannie and Freddie issue 95 percent of all mortgage bonds. Keeping their own profits will allow the companies to build up enough capital to cover any potential losses they incur, instead of leaving the government on the hook.
Called ?recap and release? for short, the plan to recapitalize and release Fannie and Freddie from government ha...