Fannie Mae

The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise. It has been a publicly traded company since 1968.

Fannie Mae was started in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal. Its purpose was to help more people get home loans.

Fannie Mae works by turning home loans into special financial products called mortgage-backed securities. This helps banks and lenders give out more loans because they can get money faster. This way, more people can buy homes.

In the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list, Fannie Mae was one of the biggest companies in the world.

History

Background and early decades

Most housing loans in the early 1900s in the United States were short-term loans that needed to be paid back quickly. The Great Depression hurt the housing market because many people lost their jobs and could not pay their loans. By 1933, about 20 to 25% of all home loans were not being paid back, and many people lost their homes. To help fix this, Fannie Mae was created by the U.S. Congress in 1938 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. It started as the National Mortgage Association of Washington. Its job was to give banks money from the government to help people buy homes. This made it easier for banks to give out more home loans, especially by buying Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages. For the first thirty years, Fannie Mae was the only company doing this work.

In 1950, Fannie Mae was taken over by the Housing and Home Finance Agency. In 1954, it became a “mixed-ownership corporation,” meaning the government owned some shares and private investors owned others. In 1968, it became a private company to keep its money out of the federal budget. That same year, Fannie Mae was split into two parts: the current Fannie Mae and the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”).

Ginnie Mae stayed with the government. It helps make sure that loans from the FHA, as well as loans for veterans and farmers, are paid back.

In 1970, Fannie Mae was allowed to buy loans that were not insured by the government. That same year, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), known as Freddie Mac, was created to compete with Fannie Mae and help make the home loan market stronger. Later in 1981, Fannie Mae created a new way to sell loans called a mortgage-backed security. Ginnie Mae had done this first in 1968, and Freddie Mac followed in 1971.

1990s

In 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed a law that changed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The law said they should help make home loans more available for families that did not have a lot of money. For the first time, they had to meet yearly goals for helping these families, set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In 1999, Fannie Mae was asked to give more loans to families with lower incomes, especially in cities that needed help.

2000s

In 2000, new rules were made to stop risky loans from counting toward these goals. But in 2004, the rules changed, and risky loans could count again.

In 2005, a bill was introduced to improve the way Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were watched over by the government.

The mortgage crisis from late 2007

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worked to help families that did not have a lot of money buy homes. But in 2003–2004, the market began to change. More loans were being sold in new ways that were not watched over by the government. This made it harder for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to check if the loans were good. The rules for checking loans got weaker, which helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.

More people could not pay their loans, especially those with changing payments, and many lost their homes. This made home prices go down.

2008 – crisis and conservatorship

In July 2008, reports said the U.S. government might need to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because their money was doing badly. On September 7, 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The leaders of the companies were removed, and the government got most of the company’s shares.

2010 – delisting

In June 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stopped being sold on the big stock market. They now sell their shares in a smaller way.

Dividends paid to government

In May 2013, Fannie Mae said it would pay $59.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury.

In 2014, Fannie Mae received $116 billion from the Treasury and paid back $134 billion.

2015 ruling – present

In May 2015, a court said that a company had not been honest about the loans it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This helped the companies because they had lost a lot of money during the crisis.

Business

Fannie Mae helps the housing market by buying loans from banks. It turns these loans into special securities that can be sold to investors. This gives banks more money to lend to new buyers.

Fannie Mae makes money in two ways. First, it borrows money at low rates and uses it to buy loans. Second, it charges a small fee for promising to pay the loan if the borrower cannot. This makes investors feel safe when they buy these securities.

Because of government rules, Fannie Mae can only buy loans that meet certain standards, called "conforming loans." These loans have limits on how big they can be, which helps keep the housing market stable.

Controversies

Accounting controversy

In 2004, Fannie Mae had questions about how it kept its financial records. Mistakes were found in how the company reported its earnings. This led to big costs to fix the problems and changes in how the company worked.

Conflict of interest

In 2008, reports showed that some leaders of Fannie Mae got special deals on loans from a company whose mortgages Fannie Mae bought. This raised concerns about fairness in business decisions.

2011 SEC charges

In 2011, leaders of Fannie Mae and another company, Freddie Mac, faced charges for not giving clear information about risky loans. The leaders settled these cases without admitting they did anything wrong.

2011 lawsuits

In 2011, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faced lawsuits from big banks for selling misleading information about certain loans. These lawsuits led to large settlements.

2013 allegations of kickbacks

In 2013, a former worker at Fannie Mae was accused of taking illegal payments from a real estate broker. Another employee said she was fired for reporting similar concerns years earlier.

Leadership

Chief executive officer

Fannie Mae has had many leaders over the years. Some of the recent and current CEOs are:

• Peter Akwaboah (Oct. 2025–present) *acting CEO
• Priscilla Almodovar (Dec. 5, 2022–Oct. 22, 2025)
• Hugh R. Frater (2018–2022)
• Timothy Mayopoulos (2012–2018)
• Michael Williams (2009–2012)
• Herbert M. Allison (2008–2009)
• Daniel Mudd (2005–2008)
• Franklin Raines (1999–2004)
• James A. Johnson (1991–1998)
• David O. Maxwell (1981‑1991)
• Allan O. Hunter (1970–1981)

Key people

The current Board of Directors as of Nov. 2025 includes:

• William J. Pulte, Chair
• Michael Stucky, Vice Chair
• Barry Habib
• Brandon Hamara
• Clinton Jones
• Omeed Malik
• Manuel “Manolo” Sánchez Rodríguez
• Scott D. Stowell

The board also included these members in 2018:

• Renee Lewis Glover, independent director since January 2016
• Michael J. Heid, independent director since May 2016
• Robert H. Herz, independent director since June 2011
• Antony Jenkins, independent director since July 2018
• Diane C. Nordin, independent director since November 2013
• Jonathan Plutzik, board chair since December 2018, independent director since November 2009
• Manuel "Manolo" Sánchez Rodríguez, independent director since September 2018
• Ryan A. Zanin, independent director since September 2016

In 2018, there were also seven executive officers, including presidents and vice presidents with different roles.

Related legislation

In 2013, a representative named Scott Garrett suggested a new rule called the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014. This rule wanted to change how some government programs, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were counted in the country's money plans.

The House of Representatives agreed to the rule in April 2014. But it went to the Senate, and nothing more happened. Since the Senate did not agree, the rule did not become a law. So, the way these programs were counted stayed the same.