Junior preferred shareholders sue for GSE payouts

One of the most audacious punts in the market has been the bet by holders of junior preferred shareholdings in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that the liquidation of the agencies in their current form will translate into a payday for junior creditors. Junior preferred stock outstanding in the two entities totalled $33 billion in March this year, but there have been no dividend payments since the two government-sponsored enterprises were put into conservatorship in 2008. The preferred stock nevertheless jumped from a low of $1.50 (par value $25) to more than $6.50 in May this year in anticipation of GSE reform gaining traction.