Christopher Whalen

Third-quarter mortgage earnings revealed swings in profitability, but the real story, according to the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, is that hedging MSRs is unnecessary for well-managed lenders.

Mortgage groups want GSEs to buy MBS to lower rates, but the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors writes that the plan is risky, unnecessary, and poorly timed.

In order to believe in the idea of "competition" in credit scores, the Washington housing community must believe that large institutional investors who buy whole loans and mortgage-backed securities are really, really dumb, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors

If they exit conservatorship, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might increase fees or retain servicing rights, shrinking their market share, according to the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Zohran Mamdani's vision for New York ignores the hard math: apartments aren't the affordable answer for families, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

FHFA's surprise approval of VantageScore 4.0 raises concerns over data, implementation hurdles, and the politicized push to reform mortgage credit scoring, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

The Treasury's need to finance growing debt is the unspoken factor in the discussion of monetary policy and housing costs, the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors argues.

As the Trump Administration looks for savings in the bloated federal housing complex, the most obvious opportunity is to return defaulted assets to the private sector, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

By restructuring the GSEs into public utilities, we can end decades of free-riding by private investors on the public credit, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

The Trump administration's appointees have been quick to roll back misguided Biden-era initiatives, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Policy shifts and economic headwinds could reshape mortgage finance under Trump II says the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Rocket said the Redfin deal is part of a purchase mortgage strategy, but originating and retaining residential mortgages in portfolio is the real endgame writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Trump's housing policies risk destabilizing multifamily markets by cutting HUD and GSE support, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

With the Fed continuing to run off its balance sheet, both in terms of securities investments and reverse repurchase agreements, demand for risk-free collateral is rising even as production volumes fall, writes Whalen.

Releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship without legislation is very high risk for the shareholders, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

President Trump is likely to sign the revisions to Executive Order 12866, which will compel all federal agencies to "report up" to the White House and the Office of Management & Budget on initiatives that are not specifically authorized by Congress, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

A big part of the trouble with the RBC rule is that Ginnie Mae is essentially using its limited legal authority to qualify government issuers to impose sweeping changes on how IMBs operate writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Depending on who wins, it will be four years of progressive policy chaos or four years of indifference towards the housing market.

Subsidies for first-time homebuyers, such as the one proposed by Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, will only stoke demand and exacerbate the crisis, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

In a brave new world, Fannie and Freddie would be functionally like Pennymac and Mr. Cooper, but would have a credit line from the Treasury and FHFA regulation, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors writes.