<P> The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was the placing into conservatorship of the government - sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) by the U.S. Treasury in September 2008 . It was one of the financial events among many in the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis . </P> <P> On September 6, 2008, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), James B. Lockhart III, announced his decision to place the two GSEs into a conservatorship run by the FHFA . </P>

When did freddie mac and fannie mae fail