That eHow article is indeed wrong. I’m more surprised when someone gets the facts right regarding Fannie and Freddie.
The government agencies that do insure loans are the FHA, the VA, HUD, and some farm related loans with the Ag Dept. Ginnie Mae deals only in this insured paper, so although it doesn’t do the insuring itself its product is gov’t insured.
Ginnie Mae is a government owned corporation, as opposed to being government sponsored like Fannie and Freddie. People assumed that Fannie and Freddie were guaranteed like Ginnie Mae but they weren’t, not that it turned out to make any difference.
Then this Reuters article is also wrong, for it also defines Fanny and Freddy as “GSE’s”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/05/us-usa-fed-housing-idUSTRE8031SE20120105
FEW TOOLS
Fannie and Freddie, government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) that are chartered by Congress, buy loans from lenders and repackage them as securities for investors, which they then guarantee. The aim is to provide a steady source of funds for the mortgage market.