• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are placed under federal conservatorship, a legal status similar to bankruptcy, with the goal of restructuring the companies.
• Their chief executives have been dismissed (but have agreed to help during the transition) and replaced with outsiders.
• The federal government stands ready to inject money if either company is found to have liabilities that exceed its assets, an assessment to be made quarterly.
• The companies will pay no dividends to owners of their stock, and the current shareholders -- who now own 100 percent of each company -- will have their stakes reduced to 20 percent, subject to further dilution if the government injects money.
• The government receives $1 billion worth of a special class of stock in each company that puts taxpayers' interests ahead of those of any other shareholders.
WASHINGTON POST
