Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[big-yank]

I have not seen any of "the older stuff" in the document cache, so in that category I can only guess. What I recall is that non-banks (like AIG) were charged 10% and banks were charged 5%. My opinion is that the GSEs and AIG were viewed as having a much higher risk profile because banks had higher loan reserves and lower lending leverage standards, and had a backstop of deposits that were guaranteed by the government in a different way under FDIC.

That's actually a question that is worth some in depth discussion. I wish others would chime in with their views beyond the usual discourse which has been largely "because they wanted to steal from shareholders."

JMHO.