Courts Affirm Government Supremacy over Shareholders
February 27, 2015
A series of court decisions have affirmed the supremacy of the executive branch of government in its regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the chagrin of private-equity investors seeking compensation in the wake of the financial crisis, according to a recent analysis by Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Those recent court decisions confirm the fact that the two GSEs are “instrumentalities of the federal government and not private corporations,” Kroll analysts said. “While this reality may bother some equity investors – and rightly so – this is good news for bond investors,” they noted. For equity investors, the court decisions underscore the fact that the GSEs are “creatures of Congress,” the analysts pointed out. In contrast, private corporations are governed by ...