Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under government control since 2008, when their losses on the collapsing housing market helped trigger the Great Recession. President Donald Trump now wants to sell stock in them with an initial public offering.

Trump and senior members of his administration "met with executives from the nation's largest banks in recent weeks" to discuss the potential IPO, said The New York Times . The two corporations are collectively a "linchpin of the $12 trillion mortgage market," making the existence of 30-year mortgages possible. It is unclear, though, if there is "much investor appetite" for shares in the firms. How and why would privatization work?

What are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

The companies "don't issue mortgages to borrowers," but they do "ensu

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