Organisations are formed for the strengthening of bargaining positions. Fannie Mae was developed by successive administrations into a privately owned but government-sponsored organisation with a central role in the finance of housing for low-income families. Privileges granted to Fannie Mae gave it an unrivalled position in acquisition of mortgages and provision of securities based on sub-prime mortgages to financial services organisations. James Johnson led the development of Fannie Mae in the 1990s as a bifocal political and financial organisation. Its powerful position was exploited for the high remuneration of its executives. Heavy expenditures were made to protect the privileges of the company. Across the industry, standards of mortgage provision were relaxed, ultimately to a point of widespread fraudulence when the demand for sub-prime based securities became intense. The histories of the crisis draw on current frames of reference to determine what is relevant to the present conduct of society. The more secretive aspects of unfolding events are relevant to the explanation of the crisis, though they are not accessible through the most dependable modes of research.