FHFA

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.