Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: Fannie and Freddie Get a Guarantee

Implicit guarantee

I’m sorry but this is a very funny way to do financial regulation:

President Donald Trump said that the US government would retain guarantees and an oversight role over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even as he pursues a public offering for the mortgage giants.

“I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the US Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President,” Trump wrote Tuesday night in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The companies, which play ...