The dramatic government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September, 2008 was motivated in part by a desire to ensure a continued flow of credit to the mortgage market. This study examines a closely related issue: the extent to which GSE activity crowds out mortgage purchases by private...

Although most studies argue that expansive secondary markets for loan sales tend to enhance opportunities to manage risk, lower loan rates, and improve access to credit, other studies point to situations in which locally based credit providers remain important (e.g. relationship lending in the...