GSE reform

A group of Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, asked the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pause any efforts to privatize mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Signs are emerging that the Trump administration may be less willing to give up control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than investors have bargained for, as policymakers scrounge for ways to close US budget gaps.

Trump has said that the US government would retain guarantees and an oversight role over Fannie and Freddie even as he pursues a public offering for the mortgage giants.

Analysts awaiting specifics on the "implicit guarantee" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are split on whether mortgage rates and guarantee fees could rise.

The companies have been under government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. Fannie and Freddie have both returned to steady profitability.

President Donald Trump said that the US government would retain guarantees and an oversight role over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even as he pursues a public offering for the mortgage giants.

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.

An explicit guarantee for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cause the risk weighting of agency MBS to decline, in turn freeing up banks' balance sheets.

Don Layton, former Freddie Mac CEO, and self-proclaimed "GSEologist" predicts that a release of the two entities will occur within four to six years.

The Trump administration is considering an executive order on housing that may push for the privatization of home loan giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.