Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both recently completed deals in which they transferred some of the risk from their guarantor book of business to private investors. As we contemplate a new housing finance system in which private entities take the first loss, backed up by a catastrophic government guarantee, the obvious question arises: how are these deals applicable to the new housing finance structure? While lessons can be learned from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac deals, there are additional considerations in an environment without government-sponsored enterprises.