Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae, short for the Federal National Mortgage Association, is a government-sponsored enterprise that plays a central role in the U.S. housing market. Created in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, it was designed to stabilize the mortgage industry. The company does not make home loans directly. Instead, it buys mortgages from lenders, packages them into mortgage-backed securities, and sells those to investors. This process, called securitization, frees up capital so banks can issue more loans. Fannie Mae's work helps make homeownership accessible to millions of Americans. Its sibling organization, Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), operates similarly.

By 2025, Fannie Mae had grown into a financial giant, holding over $4.3 trillion in assets. That makes it the largest company in the United States and the fifth largest in the world by assets. In the 2025 Fortune Global 500, it ranked 50th by total revenue. It also stands as the 17th most profitable company in the U.S. and the 32nd globally. Despite its size, Fannie Mae has weathered controversy, including a federal takeover during the 2008 financial crisis. It remains a key, if sometimes contentious, force in American housing finance.

Fannie Mae's headquarters sits at 1100 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C. The company operates major offices in Plano, Texas; Reston, Virginia; and Pasadena, California. Its economic research group publishes widely followed housing market forecasts. Recent initiatives include the HomeReady affordable lending program and partnerships with fintech companies to streamline mortgage applications. The company continues to operate under federal conservatorship, with the U.S. Treasury holding senior preferred shares.[edit]