William Poole, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, has called for the elimination of government lines of credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to Reuters.

Poole hopes to reduce the risks faced by the U.S. financial system should either mortgage company run into trouble, the wire service added.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has sent a signal that may be even more significant. S&P did affirm its rating on the senior debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the consolidated obligations of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, and the consolidated obligations of the Farm Credit System Banks. However, the ratings service warned that it would begin to place more emphasis on the financial condition of these government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and less on the potential of a government bailout.

“In Standard & Poor’s view, the policy framework and a strong governmental consensus of support for the senior unsecured debt holders of GSEs had led to the highest degree of confidence that the government would ensure full and timely payment on these securities, even if the entities themselves got into financial difficulties,” it stated. “We no longer have the same degree of confidence that the government would ensure full and timely payment on the senior unsecured debt of these GSEs.”

In fact, added S&P, even if the policy framework does not change, the ratings could be lowered given material deterioration in the financial condition of any of the enterprises.