It appears that regulators have sent a letter notifying the GSEs of this, here and here, and the details will be announced tomorrow.

It won’t be called a nationalization, my money would be on “conservatorship”, but the share holders are rumored to get little to nothing, and management will be replaced by people who answer to the government

One of the interesting dynamics here, and one that is barely covered in the financial press is the fact that Fannie and Freddie have been aggressive lobbyists and soft money contributors (their employees are big hard money contributors) for years, and with a nationalization, that will stop.

This means that Congress will stop writing laws, and pressuring regulators, for the benefit of Fannie and Freddie, which is apt to lead to major changes in said laws, regulation, and oversight.