Segment Reporting Policy (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

We operate under three business segments: Single-Family Credit Guaranty (“Single-Family”), Multifamily and Capital Markets. Our Single-Family segment generates revenue primarily from the guaranty fees on the mortgage loans underlying guaranteed single-family Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (“Fannie Mae MBS”). Our Multifamily segment generates revenue from a variety of sources, including guaranty fees on the mortgage loans underlying multifamily Fannie Mae MBS, transaction fees associated with the multifamily business and bond credit enhancement fees. Our Capital Markets segment invests in mortgage loans, mortgage-related securities and other investments, and generates income primarily from the difference, or spread, between the yield on the mortgage assets we own and the interest we pay on the debt we issue in the global capital markets to fund the purchases of these mortgage assets.

Our three reportable segments are: Single-Family, Multifamily, and Capital Markets. We use these three segments to generate revenue and manage business risk, and each segment is based on the type of business activities it performs. Under our segment reporting structure, the sum of the results for our three business segments does not equal our consolidated results of operations as we separate the activity related to our consolidated trusts from the results generated by our three segments. In addition, we apply accounting methods for segment reporting purposes that differ from our consolidated results. Therefore, we reconcile the sum of the results for our three business segments to our consolidated results of operations.