Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William J. Pulte appeared Tuesday morning on “Mornings With Maria” on Fox Business, discussing the U.S. government’s intent to sell around 5% of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an initial public offering (IPO).
“It’s great that we finally have a President that number one knows that they [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] exist, and number two is looking to extract appropriately and legally value from them for the benefit of the U.S. taxpayers,” said Pulte in an interview with Fox host Maria Bartiromo. “That is a huge departure from where we were.”
Pulte valued the two GSEs at “$500-$700 billion,” and believes that number can and will climb.
“If you recall, some people tried to get the President, and he very wisely decided not to sell the companies years ago. He doesn’t get much credit for it, but should get a lot of credit for it,” added Pulte. “At the time, they wanted to sell these companies for $50-$100 billion, and today, those companies, in my view, are worth potentially $500-$700 billion to the United States government. I think that number is going to be in the trillions one day.”
President Donald Trump recently engaged with some of the nation’s top banking minds in order to explore bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public. Fannie and Freddie, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), help provide stability and affordability to America’s home mortgage market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the two support approximately 70% of the U.S. mortgage market.
Trump has met with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on the matter, to discuss ideas and strategies on launching large-scale IPOs for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and how some of the nation’s major banks like Chase and Bank of America could participate in the process.
“This is another example of President Trump finding money where nobody finds it,” added Pulte. “They wanted to steal the company. As far as I’m concerned, years ago, he stopped that, and like one of my friends says, everywhere President Trump looks, he finds money, and he’s found money at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and we’re going to keep on making money for the benefit of Americans.”
The Wall Street Journal initially reported that Trump’s plan of bringing both Fannie and Freddie public would reportedly occur before the end of 2025.
“We are in no rush,” said Pulte regarding a time frame to bring the GSEs public. “The President holds all the cards, so he’ll decide what to do and when to do it, but I think we are looking at selling about 5% stake. The President has a lot of popularity, so that will transfer very well into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, largest IPO in history that every bank will want.”
On September 6, 2008, with consent of both Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Boards of Directors, the Director of the FHFA exercised statutory authority to place each GSE into conservatorship. This move established the two conservatorships in response to a deterioration in the housing markets that severely damaged the financial condition of each, and left both of them unable to fulfill their missions without government intervention.
In late May, President Trump took to social media platform Truth Social, stating: “Our great Mortgage Agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, provide a vital service to our Nation by helping hardworking Americans reach the American Dream—Home Ownership. I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the U.S. Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President. These Agencies are now doing very well, and will help us to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
