Bessent Says Fannie-Freddie Release Depends on Mortgage Rates

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any release of the two giant government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from their current conservatorship would depend on the implications for mortgage rates.

“Right now, the priority is tax policy — once we get through that, we will think about” reforms to Fannie and Freddie, Bessent said after a televised interview with Bloomberg’s Saleha Mohsin on Thursday. The federal government seized direct control of the two companies during the great financial crisis amid the US housing meltdown.

The shares of Fannie and Freddie hit their highest levels ...