[nopriorarrests]

>On the federal side, increasing defaults mostly reduce the difference between loans and grants

Interesting tidbit here is that half (yes, half) of the US government's financial assets are student loans.

It was discussed here previously -- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16136330.

Something I find very hard to comprehend, tbh.

[acover]

I believe this does not include most of the mortgages. For example, Fannie Mae has 3.35 trillion in assets, which dwarfs total student loans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Mae

[dragonwriter]

> I believe this does not include most of the mortgages. For example, Fannie Mae has 3.35 trillion in assets, which dwarfs total student loans.

Fannie Mae is a publicly-traded, privately-owned corporation, despite being federally chartered for a public mission.

So, yes, their holdings are not counted in government holdings, because they aren't the government.

[zeusk]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are currently under the authority of the Treasury, since the TARP program.

Which is why, their stock is worth a lot less than even their own book value.

[acover]

You are right. There is an implicit government backing though with a line of credit from the US Treasury.

[heyjudy]

Including SGE's is a gray area of what's "business" and what's "commercial."