The first week of September marked the first year since the two biggest mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, succumbed to the global financial crisis and sought the help of the U.S. government in bailing them out.

If not for the government bailout, the two giant lenders would have collapsed, leaving the over-all U.S. economy gaping with a big hole in its midst.

The companies created by the government for the purpose of making available home loans have so far used up $96 billion in government money in doing its business, and it may remain like that for the months to come.

The government stepped in last year as the two companies were unable to raise the proper funds enough to cover their soaring losses as their stock prices fell down. Today, as foreclosures and defaults continue to soar higher, the government controls almost 80 percent of the company’s operations.

The percentages of homeowners who have missed on their mortgage obligations are normally under 1 percent for both companies. At present, these rates have soared to nearly 4 percent for Fannie Mae and 3 percent for Freddie Mac. Both the companies simply could not compensate and suffice for the more than $200 billion worth of troubled loans.

Barclays Capital has predicted that for the companies to thrive, it will need around $160 to $200 billion worth of funds of the Obama administrations $400 billion help. This amount was already expanded from the original proposed $200 billion plan.

Despite government control, both companies have seen brighter days with regards to its stock on Wall Street. They have now been able to comply with the New York Stock Exchange requirement of an average closing price of $1 per share or more.

Fannie and Freddie do not necessarily make the world transactions but rather they are influential amongst industries in setting standards for the loans they might acquire. Lenders use Fannie and Freddie’s computer systems to evaluate their borrowers based on their credit scores and the size of their down payment. Because of the huge losses that both companies are facing, both companies have strictly applied these standards making sure that they avoid making any unnecessary transactions.