Fannie and Freddie debt, as SAFE as houses?

BEIJING - China's foreign exchange regulator has refuted media reports that the country may lose up to $450 billion by holding bonds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US mortgage giants.

The reports suggested that the US government might phase out the two companies. "The report is groundless," the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement published on its website on Friday, without referring to any specific media outlets.

The regulator said that it has been receiving regular payments of interest and principal on the bonds it holds in the two companies.