Investors are snapping up a new type of security sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, increasingly assuming the risks of mortgage defaults from taxpayers and powering a quiet transformation of the housing giants after almost a decade of government control, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Fannie and Freddie have sold roughly $48 billion of the securities since 2013 to a broadening group of buyers including asset managers and insurance companies. Sales are expected to reach a fresh high of $15 billion this year, up from the previous record $13 billion last year, according to JPMorgan Securities. The sales mark an early step toward reducing the government’s role in the $14.4 trillion U.S. mortgage market. The amount of mortgage debt funneled through Fannie and Freddie and other taxpayer-backed entities roughly doubled after the financial crisis, to around 70 percent.
