Until now the Obama and McCain presidential campaigns have maintained low-key stances on the crisis at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, except to issue broadly supportive statements of the administration's handling of the bail-out.

But important differences are starting to emerge. Jason Furman, economic policy director to the Democratic candidate, yesterday said a Barack Obama administration would privatise those elements of Fannie and Freddie that could be better -carried out by the -private sector, while retaining a smaller government-charter institution supporting low-income, affordable housing.