Freddie Mac is forging a new path forward as former CEO Donald Layton steps down and the new CEO David Brickman takes the helm. The transition also represents the closing of an era. As I spoke with Layton in Washington, D.C., at Freddie Mac’s headquarters, he stressed the various eras the company has been through since the housing crisis.

This month’s cover story details the era as the company struggled to survive after the crisis, dealing with the foreclosure crisis and then the transformation era. Now, a new era is dawning – the era of removing the GSEs from conservatorship. Read through the cover story to see the future of Freddie Mac under its new CEO.

Also, check out our commentary section for our own Editor Ben Lane’s take on a recent congressional hearing where U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson confused REOs with the sandwich cookie, Oreos.