Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is ordering his representatives to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down housing costs. “Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term … it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” Trump wrote.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will execute the purchase. The combined cash and cash equivalents listed on the two firms’ balance sheets in their third quarter earnings reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission was less than $17 billion as of September 30. Arriving at that amount involves taking into account assets other than what is listed as “cash” on each company’s balance sheet. Fannie’s balance sheet for the third quarter shows it holds $12.2 billion listed as “cash,” $27.2 billion listed as “restricted cash,” and $61.5 billion listed as “securities purchased under agreements to resell” for a total of $100.9 billion. Freddie’s balance sheet for the third quarter shows it holds $4.6 billion listed as “cash and cash equivalents,” and $86.3 billion listed as “securities purchased under agreements to resell,” for a total of $90.9 billion.
