Fannie Mae (formerly the Federal National Mortgage
Association; www.fanniemae.com
) and Freddie Mac (formerly the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation; www.freddiemac.com
) voluntarily consent to unprecedented SEC oversight of their
financial disclosures. The accord’s immediate practical
consequences—registration of the two government-sponsored enterprises’
(GSE) common stock with the SEC—are perhaps less significant than its
implications for the future, which include the possibility of SEC
registration of the GSEs’ high-profile, mortgage-backed securities.
Moreover, by registering their common stock, Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac will be required under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to file
their annual and quarterly reports and amendments with the SEC
beginning in 2003. Also party to the agreement are the Treasury
Department and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight ( www.ofheo.gov ), which monitors the
GSEs’ capital adequacy and financial safety and soundness.
Securities
