At least 10 high-ranking officials are leaving Fannie Mae, raising concerns about more turmoil at one of the firms that back major portions of the mortgage market, according to people familiar with the matter. Word of the senior departures spread across the industry Friday, creating worries that Fannie's ability to provide stability to prices and activity could be hampered.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a pivotal role by buying up mortgages and packaging them to sell to investors, guaranteeing the investors payments even if borrowers default. This empowers U.S. lenders to make more 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

This week's departures include many of the company's top leaders, the people familiar with the matter said. At least some of the departures weren't by choice, as several officials were notified Wednesday that their positions had been eliminated. Spokespeople for the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Fannie Mae didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bill Pulte, the head of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae, has recently ended a period of serving as acting director of national intelligence, which forced him to divide his time even further within the Trump administration.