Federal regulators have ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stop trading their shares on the NYSE. CNNMoney has more:
…while the (government bailout) money given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped put a floor under the U.S. housing market and overall economy, the two firms have continued to hemorrhage money.
The two firms posted combined losses of $93.6 billion in 2009 and another $18.2 billion in the first quarter. The Obama administration had said it would lay out its plan for their future at the start of this year, but has yet to do so.
FHFA said in a statement that the planned delisting is due to the weak stock price for both firms, and not due to any determination about a change in condition at the firms or decisions about their futures.
According to MarketWatch,
The firms’ shares will trade on the over-the-counter bulletin board market. Fannie Mae shares fell 29% to 66 cents, while Freddie Mac shares fell 21%, to 96 cents.
Freddie said in a press release that, “this notice was made pursuant to a directive by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac’s conservator, requiring Freddie Mac to delist its common and preferred securities from the NYSE.”
