The full story of the nature and origin of the financial crisis specifically in the subprime mortgage market is told elsewhere, but here is a sketch of the background. The U.S. government created, at different times, two organizations to provide a secondary market for home mortgages. A secondary market is where primary lenders such as banks can sell the mortgage they have created. The government-created agencies for providing a secondary market in home mortgages are known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Aroung 1960 they became private companies. Fannie Mae was probably the largest business in the world in terms of asset holdings.