FHFA

A hedge fund proposal for freeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from U.S. control is poised to face stiff opposition from investors who say it risks wrecking the mortgage-bond market.

From the Trump administration's initial efforts at reg relief and GSE reform to dramatic shifts in the servicing landscape, here's a look back at the top stories shaping the mortgage industry during the first half of 2017.

The ICBA backs a plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie through retained earnings and public offerings, but other groups see it as a self-interested proposal to help GSE stockholders.

Paulson & Co. and Blackstone Group are among investors backing a proposal that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be recapitalized and released from U.S. control without legislation.

Fannie Mae's credit risk sharing transactions since 2013 have grown to the point where the total for the unpaid principal balance transferred has reached $1 trillion.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has revived the idea of putting a question on the loan application asking consumers what language they want to communicate in.

Home prices increased 6% in the first quarter from a year earlier as competition heated up for a scarcity of listings.

President Trump’s budget would reduce funds to the CFPB and eliminate a fund designed to help regulators unwind a failing megabank.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was pressed for his views on housing finance reform, what a “modernized” version of the Glass-Steagall Act would look like and a two-tiered regulatory system.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be able to rebuild a capital buffer to avoid any potential crisis in the mortgage market, according to a coalition of affordable housing advocates, homebuilders and small mortgage lender groups.

FHFA Director Mel Watt warned Thursday that to prevent a potential draw on the Treasury Department by the government-sponsored enterprises, he is willing to act unilaterally to rebuild capital at Fannie and Freddie.

The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said the regulator should consider firing Fannie Mae CEO Timothy Mayopoulos for not properly disclosing he was dating a senior executive at a bank that does business with the mortgage-finance giant.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued proposals Monday to create pilot programs for loans on mobile homes, part of an ambitious plan for underserved and rural housing markets.

No matter what form government-sponsored enterprise reform takes, Federal Housing Finance Agency officials are stressing that it should account for the fact that the GSEs' capital buffer will soon hit zero.

Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens is confident that housing finance reform will move forward under the Trump administration, but criticized calls to simply let the government-sponsored enterprises recapitalize and be returned to shareholders without additional reforms.

Congressional action to reform housing finance is ultimately needed, but we must confront the risk of continued drift and inaction if Congress is unable to act.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the mortgage business is full of jargony abbreviations. Test your mortgage knowledge on these key industry terms.

A new Republican plan to streamline Dodd-Frank's capital rules, stress tests and many other requirements will be reintroduced in the coming weeks by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

Private market mortgage insurance companies should better align their buyback and rescission policies with those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

A bipartisan group of senators told Mel Watt, the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that he shouldn't allow the companies to recapitalize without congressional approval.