GSE reform

Private mortgage insurers are better positioned to weather a flatter or even inverted yield curve than other financials from an investment perspective, a report from FBR Capital Markets said.

President Trump has tapped Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as interim head of the CFPB. He has taken tough stances on the CFPB, its payday lending rule, housing finance reform and other issues pending before the agency.

The White House and congressional GOP leaders are eyeing a tight window between tax reform passage and the 2018 midterms to pass housing finance reform. And with key policymakers readying their exit, the effort could be the most concerted push yet.

Mark Calabria, the chief economic adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said the administration is focused for now on more pressing issues than GSE reform, including addressing housing damage from recent hurricanes.

In a somewhat surprising decision, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced his retirement from Congress on Tuesday, but speculation immediately grew that he could fill a regulatory post.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said the agency is poised to examine alternatives to how a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assess creditworthiness of home buyers, including seeking public comment on the issue later this fall.

In a moment of rare unity, the Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a joint letter to FHFA arguing to stop the GSEs' profit sweep.

Though FHFA Director Mel Watt stopped short of saying he would break with a Treasury agreement that forces all profits of the GSEs to go to the government, he emphasized that it couldn’t continue indefinitely.

Competition in other areas of consumer lending has driven both VantageScore and FICO to build credit scoring models that are more accurate and more consumer-friendly. Permitting that competition in the mortgage market can increase certainty for lenders and transparency for investors.

Sen. Bob Corker has been a key voice in the housing finance reform debate. His departure at the end of next year puts a deadline of sorts on his efforts to unwind and replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.