Steven Mnuchin

The letter written by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was seen as a boost to Wall Street lobbying efforts seeking to quell the fallout of the coronavirus crisis on the mortgage market.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated Thursday that he wants U.S. financial markets to remain open even as the coronavirus fuels wild volatility, while adding that he's focused on helping mortgage firms expected to be hit hard by the pandemic’s spreading economic pain.

The $2 trillion deal passed by the Senate late Wednesday would aim to put banks and consumers alike on stronger financial footing as they weather the coronavirus pandemic.

The rush to unload mortgage-backed securities signals that a credit meltdown that began with corporate bonds is spreading to other corners of the market.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to retain “limited and tailored government support” after they are released from U.S. control, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a letter to lawmakers.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are pressuring Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuch to provide more details on administration plans to end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Financial regulators have been put on notice about the risk of an economically damaging cash crunch in the home mortgage market. Behind the concern: the rapid growth of shadow banks in the origination and servicing of home loans.

At a House hearing covering a whole host of housing finance reform topics, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator said "if the circumstances" call for eliminating investors, "we will."

Whether Congress and/or the mortgage industry is able to untangle two opposing threads in the Trump administration's plans is anyone's guess.

Federal appeals court judges in New Orleans on Friday appeared to back claims by investors that Treasury's "net worth sweep" is illegal.

Senate Banking Committee members feel urgency to pass a bill dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the same obstacles that have stalled congressional action for years remain.

The Treasury secretary said he hopes lawmakers will back reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within three to six months.

The Treasury Department made clear in a much-anticipated report that it prefers Congress take up reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, but it also recommended steps that federal agencies could take without legislation.

With officials putting finishing touches on presidentially directed reports on the future of the housing finance system, the Senate Banking Committee announced a hearing to examine the issue.

The mortgage industry will be looking for answers when Treasury and HUD unveil reports on housing finance reform, but the Trump administration’s plans could also raise a whole new host of questions.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development approved a settlement in favor of the California Reinvestment Coalition against CIT Group's OneWest Bank, which Steven Mnuchin ran before he became Treasury secretary.

The Trump administration is growing wary of taking bold steps toward freeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from federal control before the 2020 election, said people familiar with the matter, in part because of the political risk of potentially upending the U.S. mortgage market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has appeared willing to take its own steps to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but legislation would be necessary to create an explicit guarantee of the mortgage system.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was adamant that the Trump administration won’t just let Fannie and Freddie build up their capital buffers and then release the companies. He also said he backed an explicit government guarantee, something only Congress can do.