Fannie-Freddie rescue averted collapse

New data shows that if the U.S. government had not rescued Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the secondary mortgage market would have collapsed, leaving the housing market in worse shape with a virtual halt on mortgage lending.

In the last year, Fannie and Freddie Mac provided $1.1 trillion in new mortgage credit, while private mortgage-backed securities issuance fell from $900 billion to nothing, according to the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds data.

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