LIVE: What's a GSE? Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Weren't the First

While the Treasury Department hosts today's conference about the future of the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you may be wondering what is a GSE and how did we get into this mess in the first place?

For more conference-related coverage from AOL Real Estate, read these columns by housing experts Alyssa Katz, Jeff Corbett, and Patricia Orsini.

GSE is short for government-sponsored enterprise. These enterprises include a group of corporations in the financial services arena that were created by the U.S. Congress to enhance the flow of credit to particular markets. So they are hybrid corporations that raise private capital to fulfill their public mission.

Congress' intent in creating GSEs was to improve the flow of credit for particular segments of the capital markets, such a mortgages or student loans. They operate under the banner of the federal government as federally chartered institutions.