GSE reform

While no one is suggesting that the plan will help banks regain the share they've ceded to nonbanks, bankers believe that stabilizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could at least help them keep what they have.

The recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the 2020 election is unlikely even if the net worth sweep ends, according to a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report.

The FHFA can go beyond a recent Trump administration report to level the playing field between the private sector and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suggested that a finalized capital framework for the two mortgage giants could be published by the end of the year.

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.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors won a victory in their long battle to reap benefits from their stakes in the mortgage giants with a court ruling letting them pursue claims that the U.S. sweep of the companies’ earnings is illegal.

The Trump administration raised the goal posts for ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but how officials get there is still highly uncertain.

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 Treasury’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac left legacy shareholders holding the bag.

Though advocates and industry are rarely aligned, they are starting to coalesce around a plan that would call for the elimination of the CFPB’s 43% debt-to-income limit as part of its qualified mortgage rule.

Complaints made by legacy shareholders of Freddie Mac have no value after the Treasury Department pumped up Freddie and Fannie Mae through conservatorship.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's corporate debt ratings shouldn't be downgraded in the near term as a result of the Treasury Department's to-be-released government-sponsored enterprise reform plan, Fitch Ratings said.

With the agency mulling changes to the “Qualified Mortgage” regulation, mortgage lenders say little-known standards for how they document a borrower’s income would be a good place to start.

A gradual approach would help the market absorb loans affected by the government-sponsored enterprises' expiring qualified mortgage exemption, a Redwood Trust executive told analysts during a recent earnings call.

Many in the industry say releasing GSE-backed loans from stringent underwriting rules has helped the housing market recover, but a new level of regulatory burden could reverse those gains.