Treasury: Support for mortgage giants needed

[July 22, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says Congress needs to quickly approve a support package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure the two mortgage giants maintain their important role in housing finance.

Paulson said Tuesday that the continued operations of Fannie and Freddie -- which guarantee or own almost half of the home mortgages in the country -- would be "central to the speed with which we emerge from this housing correction."

Paulson was making his comments in a speech in New York in which he again sought to reassure Americans that despite the recent turmoil, the nation's banking system is fundamentally sound.

[Associated Press]

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