US financial rescue 'a real turning point' - buy to let mortgages

09 September 2008

The US government's rescue of the country's financial institutions Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could help world housing markets, an expert has said.

Head of global equities at F&C Investments Jeremy Tigue claimed the measures could be "a real turning point" for international property industries - highlighting potential benefits for the UK buy to let mortgages sector.

He commented: "The scale of the rescue means it removes a huge amount of systemic risk from the global financial system."

American leaders were forced to bail out the two organisations, which account for the majority of mortgages in the US.

Mr Tigue described the move as the biggest financial rescue since 1945 and estimated it is 25 times larger than the UK government's intervention to save Northern Rock.

That crisis began around a year ago when customers panicked and started to withdraw their funds from the bank, after media reports exposed the state of the company's finances.