GSE reform

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposal Wednesday that would require mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to align their policies on cash flows for current mortgage-backed securities, and eventually for a uniform security when it is implemented next year.

Housing finance reform is still likely years away, but a growing chorus of lawmakers say the government guarantor has the ability to clear the path to a final plan.

The proposal by Reps. Jeb Hensarling and John Delaney is a sign that a bipartisan consensus is building on how to move on from Fannie and Freddie.

The departing House Financial Services chair unveiled a bill with Democrat John Delaney to repeal Fannie and Freddie's charters and establish Ginnie Mae as a backstop.

Freddie Mac is promoting Executive Vice President David Brickman to president and will consider him among possible candidates to be the agency's next CEO after Don Layton retires next year.

The Treasury Department and a key housing regulator are preparing to fill a second possible vacancy atop a U.S.-controlled mortgage giant, a move that could strengthen the Trump administration's hand in addressing unfinished business from the 2008 credit crisis.

Maybe political winds or another downturn will spark housing finance reform. But 10 years after the conservatorships began, the companies are still in perpetual limbo.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

The employee who made sexual harassment allegations against the agency’s director also claims Watt withheld her pay increase after she refused his advances.

Top U.S. housing regulator Mel Watt is privately reassuring people close to him that he will keep his post as authorities investigate an employee's claims of sexual harassment. Now, his accuser is heightening the pressure — speaking out publicly for the first time.

The regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises has substantial authority to intervene as a legislative stalemate continues.

The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled an FHFA oversight hearing for September in the wake of waste, fraud and abuse allegations.

The biggest impact may be to focus the administration’s efforts on selecting a nominee to succeed Director Mel Watt, whose term ends in January.

Fannie Mae’s treatment of a reperforming loan package helped drive up earnings by almost 41% to $4.5 billion, delivering a stronger dividend to Treasury ahead of a leadership change.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship nearly a decade after the financial crisis, and there’s still no end in sight.

The agency said multiple stakeholders had requested more time to evaluate the proposal.

Whoever succeeds current Director Mel Watt will have a front-and-center role in efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The House Financial Services Committee chair also acknowledged that his capital-formation bill still faces a potentially tough Senate vote.

Michael Bright co-wrote a paper in 2016 that envisioned making the agency a backstop for the housing finance system, but appeared to distance himself from the proposal at his confirmation hearing.

The announcement comes as Fannie Mae promoted David Benson to serve as president of the government-sponsored enterprise.