FHFA

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.

The proposal builds on guidance the agency gave to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier this year.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has all but ruled out letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit U.S. control before he steps down, leaving it to the Biden administration to decide the fates of the mortgage giants.

Many have assumed the high court would rule that presidents can fire the Federal Housing Finance Agency director at will. But during oral arguments in a case challenging the agency’s structure, some justices suggested they could stop short of such a decision.

Plus: per-loan profits break a record and FHFA extends pandemic-related measures.

Adolfo Marzol came to the agency after a stint at HUD and a 30-year career in the mortgage industry. He will depart on Dec. 18.

Fannie hasn't completed any credit risk transfers to private investors since the second quarter. Some experts worry the decision — likely spurred by the company’s concerns about a recent capital regulation — could put the mortgage giant on unsteady footing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would extend the measures until “at least” Jan. 21, 2021.

President Trump is running out of time to do what hedge funds and other investment firms with big ownership stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have wanted since he took office: put the mortgage giants on a path to exiting government control.

The price increase illustrates the extent to which federal rescue programs and a supply-demand imbalance have been counterweights to economic pressures from the pandemic.

Overall housing value growth continued in the third quarter, as some markets more than doubled the national average, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Home Price Index.

The new capital framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a prelude to letting the mortgage giants potentially retain all their earnings. But efforts to privatize the companies could face pushback from the Biden administration.

The 2021 cap is still pretty high, historically speaking, but it’s down from the cap the Federal Housing Finance Agency put in place for a five-quarter period last year.

Freddie Mac representatives would not comment on the sudden resignation of Brickman. Interim CEO Michael Hutchins has served as Freddie’s executive vice president of investments and capital markets since January 2015.

The teams include people who previously worked for the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency as well as HUD.

Plans for a first-time homebuyer tax credit and expanded affordable housing opportunities may be attractive to lenders, but they’re wary of increased regulation.

The former FDIC chief oversaw the resolution of hundreds of failed banks during the financial crisis and knows how to build relationships with regulators. Those skills could be crucial in helping Fannie exit federal control.

FSOC’s statement on the FHFA’s proposed capital rule raises questions for market participants trying to anticipate a post-conservatorship secondary mortgage market, should the incoming administration go through with the GSEs’ exit from governmental control.

A White House-backed effort to free mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control has been cast into doubt by former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump.

One of the top banking regulators during the 2008 financial crisis could have a hand in nudging Fannie Mae out of conservatorship.