Comments made by Treasury Secretary Designate Steven Mnuchin about privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused much speculation around Washington last week. But analysts predict that privatization in the near term is unlikely. Mnuchin criticized the fact that the GSEs have been in conservatorship this long. During a cable television interview he said, “We’ve got to get Fannie and Freddie out of government ownership,” adding that it often displaces private lending in the mortgage markets. “So let me just be clear. We’ll make sure that when they’re restructured they’ll be safer and they won’t get taken over again, but we’ve got to get them out of government control.”