Fannie and Freddie Delisted From Stock Exchange: Does It Matter?

It's the end of an era: Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Macno longer will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The Federal Housing Finance Agency made the request. From now on, both government-controlled companies will be traded only on the much-smaller Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.

But will borrowers affected by the change?

Wall Street insiders call it delisting. It's what happens to companies whose worth, in terms of their stock price, has collapsed with little hope of ever recovering. It's another way of saying a company is just about dead. The FHFA claims this is not the case in this instance.

Indeed, Fannie and Freddie may be dead to the New York Stock Exchange, but they are very much alive in the home loan business -- the vast majority all new home loans now receive a guarantee from Fannie or Freddie that pushes down the mortgage interest rate. So Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dead -- long live Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

What's really going on?