This report demonstrates that a significant proportion of prospective homeowners remains underserved by the mortgage finance industry. The report reviews and evaluates the framework of housing goals that has been established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It finds that the housing goals represent a promising approach to focusing their resources on the mortgage credit needs of homebuyers. Such a programmatic emphasis by these enterprises represents an appropriate exchange for the benefits that they receive through their ties with the Federal government.

Why America's public-private mortgage giants threaten the world economy—and what to do about it The financial collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 led to one of the most sweeping government interventions in private financial markets in history. The bailout has already cost American taxpayers close to $150 billion, and substantially more will be needed. The U.S. economy--and by extension, the global financial system--has a lot riding on Fannie and Freddie. They cannot fail, yet that is precisely what these mortgage giants are guaranteed to do. How can we limit the damage to our economy, and avoid making the same mistakes in the future? Guaranteed to Fail explains how poorly designed government guarantees for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led to the debacle of mortgage finance in the United States, weighs different reform proposals, and provides sensible, practical recommendations. Despite repeated calls for tougher action, Washington has expanded the scope of its guarantees to Fannie and Freddie, fueling more and more housing and mortgages all across the economy--and putting all of us at risk. This book unravels the dizzyingly immense, highly interconnected businesses of Fannie and Freddie. It proposes a unique model of reform that emphasizes public-private partnership, one that can serve as a blueprint for better organizing and managing government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In doing so, Guaranteed to Fail strikes a cautionary note about excessive government intervention in markets.

"As England's Industrial Revolution started the process of urbanization that has since characterized development throughout the world, a poet worried about the ""dark satanic mills"" that were such a fundamental part of this revolution. However, despite his misgivings, he also suggested that it was necessary for societies to arm themselves with ""chariots of fire"" and other weapons so that they could master this process. In a somewhat more prosaic poetic vein World Bank President Robert McNamara launched the bank's shelter assistance programs saying that 'If cities do not begin to deal more constructively with poverty, poverty may begin to deal more destructively with cities.' These concerns would appear to have even more resonance today as the population of cities in developing countries increasing by unprecedented levels of more than 1 billion people per year for the next 15 years. This magnitude suggests the scale of the increase in the investment in shelter needed to meet the needs of this growing population."