GSE reform

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.

Housing finance reformers are pushing full steam ahead to get a bill introduced before the political calendar makes passage nearly impossible.

The busy legislative agenda laid out by President Trump in the State of the Union speech Tuesday night casts doubt on how quickly Congress can move on financial services legislation, particularly a housing finance reform package.

The government must continue to provide support for the mortgage market in any new housing finance system, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.

The Community Home Lenders Association sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday laying out its priorities for GSE reform.

Supporters of an unreleased bill to revamp the housing finance system say the plan strikes a middle ground that can gain support from both sides of the aisle.

Senate negotiators are working on a bill that would place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership and replace them with multiple mortgage guarantors, according to sources.

Craig Phillips, a top aide to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said his department "broadly" agrees with the FHFA plan, which would return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private market and provide them an explicit government guarantee.

FHFA Director Mel Watt said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reincorporated as private entities and the government must provide an explicit guarantee for catastrophic losses in the secondary mortgage market.

Housing finance reform proposals could make it challenging for community banks and credit unions to serve rural mortgage markets, according to a report issued Wednesday by Brookings and the Center for Responsible Lending.

The Senate Banking Committee is expected soon to release a bipartisan bill that would significantly reshape the housing finance market, but key issues remain unresolved.