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U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Announce Mortgage Banking Bailout Plans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve on Sunday unveiled sweeping steps to support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if needed to bolster confidence in the troubled mortgage financing giants and head off a potential meltdown in global financial markets.

The move by the Fed echoed its emergency action to help rescue investment bank Bear Stearns in March, when it opened the discount window to investment banks for the first time since the Great Depression.