Spicoli
2 hours ago
Bessent Considers Including GSEs in a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund
dhollier@imfpubs.com
Speaking on a conservative podcast this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be included in the sovereign wealth fund currently being contemplated by the Trump administration.
Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned investment funds that generate revenues by investing idle treasury funds. Many of the largest SWFs β think Norway, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia β are funded through government-owned oil and gas reserves.
But others, such as the China SWF, have extensive ownership interests in major corporations and sweep much of their profits into state coffers.
If the government-sponsored enterprises were to become part of the federal governmentβs new SWF, all their profits would likely flow into that coffer rather than to their shareholders.
For more details on the Trump administration and the GSEs, see the new issue of Inside MBS & ABS.