Who Holds Securities of Government Sponsored Enterprises?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), are the talk of the town. Staying close to this, we looked at the details of ownership of securities issued by the GSEs. It is widely known that Fannie and Freddie have kept the housing market engine running and their securities are scattered in portfolios around the globe. Who owns securities of GSEs? The minutiae are interesting because they indicate how this asset class has grown in these portfolios and who is affected by the fortunes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A majority of the owners of GSE securities include households, commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, pension funds, life insurance companies, mutual funds, brokers, ABS issuers, REITs and the rest of the world. Table 1 lists the distribution of these securities among the largest five holders, excluding the GSEs themselves. As of 2007, the outstanding GSE securities (non-mortgage pool and those backed by mortgages) summed up to $7.37 tri
