Just asking.

So the executives can continue to live in the style to which they have become accustomed?

And while we're at it, let's claw back what they stole. Details of the F&F "conservatorship" from RGE Monitor:

Key features of government intervention (final deal to be announced before Asian markets open):

1) Fannie and Freddie and their combined $1.6 trillion investment portfolio business financed through agency bond issuance will be taken under a conservatorship for an orderly restructuring process.

2) The value of the companies' common stock would be diluted but not wiped out, while the holdings of other securities, including company debt and preferred shares might be protected by the government. (Washington Post)

3) taxpayer backstop for combined $5.3 trillion F&F owned or guaranteed debt: taxpayer funds will be used to pay any cash-flow shortfalls (e.g. due to borrower defaults) on mortgages F&F own or guarantee;

4) capital infusions to F&F in conservatorship on a quarterly basis depending on reported results instead of large capital infusion upfront;

5) Fire CEOs and replace the board

Ingo Walter: it is critical that the government obtain warrants or rights equal to the full and fair value of this subsidy and any upside that this support generates (similar to those received in the 1980 Chrysler bailout). It is critical to minimize costs to the taxpayers and to assure that the value of any support accrues to taxpayers and not to management, shareholders or debt holders.

Majority of $36bn preferred shares is held by small and regional banks and other financial institutions that have already written down over $500bn.
InvestorsInsight: There is $36 billion in preferred shares as of June 2007. Then there is $19 billion in subordinated debt. These firms back $5.2 trillion in mortgage securities, that means even a 1% loss from foreclosures would mean a $50 billion portfolio loss. Adding this up, a bail-out might cost at least $105 billion, not the $25bn as envisaged by CBO.
Lockhart (OFHEO): At the end of March, F&F had credit outstanding of $5.3 trillion, including agency debt of $1.6 trillion and guaranteed mortgage-backed securities (MBS) of $3.7 trillion. By Q1 2008, FannieMae 'fair value' Tier 1 capital ratio at 0.4%, and -0.2% for FreddieMac. The companies' capital is leveraged 50 times.

Foreigners (mostly central banks but also big Japanese banks and the bank of China) hold over 20% or $1.3T of the outstanding long-term debt of U.S. government agencies. China and Japan are the largest holders with $376b and $229b respectively. The Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, and Belgium held the next highest shares. In Jan- July, foreign official and private investors bought an average of $20b of agency debt a month. From July 16 to August 20, as F+F's solvency issues took center stage, foreign investors sold $14.7bn of agency debt, trimming their overall holdings to $972bn(FT)

I say let the Cayman Islanders and the Luxembourgians take the bath, instead of the Japanese and Chinese widows and orphans. Haw. Gosh, I wonder who they could be?