Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bailed-out mortgage giants, are expected to remove their shares from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a government regulator said Wednesday.

The two companies would need to take steps to shore up their share prices to meet stock exchange rules. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed the companies to delist their shares.

"The determination to direct delisting is related to stock exchange requirements for maintaing price levels and curing deficiencies," said FHFA acting Director Edward DeMarco.

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Shares in each of the two companies have hovered around $1, the minimum average closing price on the NYSE.

Stock will continue to trade, the agency said in a statement, but through a different mechanism.

The two companies received massive taxpayer-funded bailouts in 2008 and continue to rely on heavy government assistance.

