Despite earlier speculation by the Wall Street Journal that initial public offerings were near, U.S. President Donald Trump is yet to decide on a plan to publicly relist mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X Tuesday.
President Trump “has not made a decision yet” on “what if any shares he wants to sell in any type of public offering,” nor has he picked a lead bank for the offering, according to Pulte. He added that Trump was also yet to pick a lead bank for the offering. Trump has repeatedly touted plans to privatize the GSEs, which have been under federal conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis.
Speculation Surrounds Timing and Bank Involvement
Trump had earlier called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “get big homebuilders going,” claiming that U.S. builders were sitting on a record 2 million empty lots.
According to the Wall Street Journal, several major U.S. banks were attempting to woo the White House into granting them lead on a potential IPO.
Experts Weigh in on Privatization Risks
“The U.S. is quite unique in that it has 30-year mortgages,” Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, said about the privatization of the GSEs while speaking at an event at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Whether it’s a good idea or bad idea in privatizing Fannie and Freddie will depend on the distribution of risks between the financial institutions and the government, he said.
Regarding the general economy, “catastrophic outcomes have been taken off the table,” Bostic said, as compared with the outlook when tariffs were first announced.
