It's my impression that free market loons who were long against the very idea of the GSEs managed to capitalize on accounting issues at FNM and FRE - some real, and some a result of the loons not understanding FAS 133 - and get punitive capital requirements inflicted. So describing this as lowering standards is a bit like saying you're raising taxes by allowing the 2001 Bush tax cuts to expire.
This seems one of the smarter moves to date, and the most likely to have a meaningful effect.
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