Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Trade on the OTC Bulletin Board

Both Firms Lose Their NYSE Listings

July 7, 2010 – I thought I would never see this.  And, it’s very sad.  Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers, will begin trading tomorrow on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTC BB), as they have both lost their listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).   

Fannie Mae’s common and preferred shares will trade under the symbol FNMA and Freddie Mac will trade under the symbol FMCC. 

New York Stock Exchange rules require companies to be listed by the NYSE when their share prices fall below $1 for thirty consecutive trading days.

The two firms guarantee or own more than half of the $11 trillion U.S. mortgage market.

One has to wonder whether we’ll see Citibank and American International Group (AIG) joining Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the OTC Bulletin Board.

Author:  Jeffrey O. Friedland