GSE reform

The agency proposed new minimum capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would only go into effect if the government ends its conservatorships.

In the continued absence of legislation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator announced work on a new capital framework.

Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia are acknowledging the legislative efforts to end government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dead, at least for now.

For nearly a decade, the FHFA has restricted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from trying to influence the raging debate over whether they should live or die.

President Trump has nominated Michael Bright, the current acting president and chief operating officer of Ginnie Mae, to head the agency full time.

If Freddie Mac's credit-risk transfer activities continue to grow, mortgage lenders could eventually see a reduction in the guarantee fees they pay to the government-sponsored enterprise, according to CEO Donald Layton.

The Treasury secretary said reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will come into focus more in 2019, when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s term will end.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's plan to combine Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages into a single security starting in June 2019 promises to bring both benefits and challenges to the mortgage sector.

The reserve bank's proposal to address banks and nonbanks that remain "too big to fail" does not include two of the largest such institutions: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Momentum to overhaul the mortgage finance system had been slipping, and with Democrats divided over the Senate's banking relief bill there's virtually no chance more bipartisan deals can be worked out.

The annual progress report on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships reiterated that a new credit score model will likely not be operational until after the implementation of a new Single Security Initiative.

After several years of preparation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will start issuing a new, common mortgage-backed security starting June 3, 2019, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday.

News that the GSEs need an infusion from Treasury to cover quarterly losses underscores problems with the government’s 2012 decision to “sweep” the housing giants’ profits.

The House Financial Services Committee chairman's effort to make changes to a Dodd-Frank revision bill could either give him a defining victory or extend his losing streak.

A Senate proposal calling for a federal guarantee on mortgage-backed securities would only benefit the largest banks and increase the risk of bailouts.

The Supreme Court dealt hedge funds and other big investors a blow Tuesday by refusing to revive core parts of lawsuits that challenged the federal government’s capture of billions of dollars in profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As the debate over housing reform heats up, policymakers should give careful consideration to a plan that recapitalizes the government-sponsored enterprises.

Despite a legislative push by some senators and other stakeholders to jump-start housing finance reform, efforts to form consensus over a bill once again are stuck in neutral.

As conservator, FHFA Director Mel Watt has substantial leeway to remake the government-sponsored enterprises without congressional input. Here's one way he might do so.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Financial Stability Oversight Council will propose SIFI criteria before executing changes, and provided comments about the Volcker Rule, Orderly Liquidation Authority and housing finance.