Fannie Mae was founded in 1938 through President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Like it's "brother company" Freddie Mac, it is a publicly traded financial institution chartered by Congress to provide financing to mortgage lenders.

In February 2009, Fannie Mae requested $15.2 billion in government aid after posting a $25.5 billion loss, or about $4.47 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. The Obama administration has promised the mortgage lender at least $200 billion in aid.FOX Business: Fannie Mae Seeks $15.2B After $25.2B 4Q Loss

• 1938: Fannie Mae was founded
• 1968: Converted to private corporation
• 2004: Accounting practices under investigation
• 2006: Charges filed against Franklin Raines, J. Timothy Howard and Leanne G. Spencer
• 2008: Placed under the guardianship of the U.S. Federal Government

On December 9, 2008, former Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive officer Franklin Raines testified before a Congressional panel about the state of the company's affairs. House members accused both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of risky mortgage lending that fueled the mortgage crisis and ultimately led to the 2008 recession.Bloomberg.com: Raines Faults Regulators for Fannie, Freddie Missteps (December 9, 2008)

In January 2009, a test project came to light that has allowed Fannie Mae to come to the rescue of some distressed homeowners. Under the new program, which began in December 2008, and was tested in in Phoenix and Orlando, owners who owe more than their house is worth are able to sell the home back to Fannie Mae, without a buyer. The test program was limited to mortgages from Fannie Mae that were serviced by Countrywide.BloggingStocks: Fannie Mae's new program ... (January 12, 2009)

On July 11, 2008, U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the Federal Government would not take over mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Experts maintain that the institutions are capable of covering their own losses in the wake of the mortgage crisis, and that a government assumption of their liabilities would double the U.S. national debt.Times Online: Paulson says priority is to support US mortgage giants (July 11, 2008)

On July 14, 2008 a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was announced by the U.S. Treasury. Under the plan, Congress would lend money to the companies, extend their credit lines and buy shares of equity.Reuters: Analysts split on Fannie-Freddie rescue plan (July 14, 2008)

On July 30, 2008, President George W. Bush signed legislation granting the Treasury Department the power to lend money to or buy stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The limit on loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to buy was raised to $625,000 and a new affordable housing fund will be founded using the profits of the two companies.Associated Press: Bush signs housing bill to provide mortgage relief (July 30, 2008)Yahoo! News: Provisions of housing-mortgage relief bill (July 26, 2008)

In August 2008, the ongoing mortgage crisis led to a steep decline in the value of Fannie Mae stock.USA Today: Report of Fed help for Fannie, Freddie turns stocks (August 14, 2008) It was announced on September 7 that both Fannie and Freddie would be placed under the guardianship of the federal government, in order to minimize risk to the U.S. housing market.The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Outlines Fan-Fred Takeover (September 7, 2008)

On January 23, 2009, Fannie Mae announced the layoff of hundreds of employees in technology, admin, communications and the unit that buys bundled mortgages. The layoff will be balanced with new hires in the company's anti-foreclosure unit located in Dallas, Texas. According to the company, the overall employee count will remain at the same level in 2009 as the previous year. In 2008 the company had approximately 5,500 employees.WashingtonPost.com: Fannie Mae Laying Off Hundreds (January 23, 2009)

In late-January 2009, Rajendrasinh Makwana, an IT contractor who worked in Fannie Mae's Urbana, Maryland branch, was indicted for allegedly installing a malicious script called a logic bomb on the institutions servers. The logic bomb was set to execute on January 31, 2009, and would have deleted much of Fannie Mae's 4,000 servers, causing millions in damages and likely shut down the company for at least a week. A Unix engineer had discovered the malicious script by accident.InformationWeek: Fannie Mae Contractor Indicted For Logic Bomb