This all goes back to what happened when the government took over Fannie and Freddie in the first place. The people to whom Fannie and Freddie owed money got a "bailout"—the government covered the housing giants' debts. But this didn't take the form of the federal government handing money over to the shareholders and managers. Instead, the shareholders were essentially wiped out. Management of the companies is in the hands of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and most of the profits the companies make are rebated to the government as special dividends. As shares confer no control over Fannie and Freddie nor any entitlement to any profit streams, they're basically worthless. In recognition of that worthlessness, their stocks were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.