Billionaire investor Bill Ackman expects US President-elect Donald Trump to make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac private companies again, according to Reuters.
Fannie Mae shares rose 18.4%, whereas Freddie Mac surged 8% following Ackman’s post on social media X. According to the post, the two companies could emerge from conservatorship within the next two years. That could lead to their public listing around 2026.
The companies were established by Congress to expand the national home loan market. They bought mortgages from private lenders and repackaged them into mortgage-backed securities.
When the housing market collapsed in 2008, the companies suffered huge losses. To avoid catastrophic consequences for the US economy, they were put under the care of the newly created Federal Housing Finance Agency.
