Fannie, Freddie Bailout Necessary, But Not Enough

First, my apologies to all regarding Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) preferreds. I called it wrong. They weren't saved.

But in trying to learn from my mistakes, I would offer that regulators clearly knew who held them within the banking system and concluded that the holders -- unlike the subordinated debt -- weren't sufficiently entwined (nor the individual holdings material enough) to be significant.