GSE reform

As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist, they must have adequate capital so taxpayers will never again be compelled to help them meet their financial obligations.

From pockets of growth in a shrinking refi market to the possibility of REITs buying agency risk-sharing securities, here's a look at recent market shifts that major industry players are focused on right now.

Paulson & Co. and Blackstone Group are among investors backing a proposal that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be recapitalized and released from U.S. control without legislation.

Fannie Mae's credit risk sharing transactions since 2013 have grown to the point where the total for the unpaid principal balance transferred has reached $1 trillion.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be able to rebuild a capital buffer to avoid any potential crisis in the mortgage market, according to a coalition of affordable housing advocates, homebuilders and small mortgage lender groups.

FHFA Director Mel Watt warned Thursday that to prevent a potential draw on the Treasury Department by the government-sponsored enterprises, he is willing to act unilaterally to rebuild capital at Fannie and Freddie.

One of the largest mortgage-bond investors says it would be a mistake for the federal government to relinquish control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without first making major changes to the nation's housing-finance system.

Fannie Mae said it expects to make a $2.8 billion dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury in June after reporting a first-quarter profit driven by a relatively stable mortgage market and a continued decline in delinquencies.

From housing finance reform to the latest economic projections, here's a look at the biggest stories and best insights from this week's Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to pursue opportunities for the government-sponsored enterprises to provide liquidity to the single-family rental market, despite opposition from mortgage and real estate industry groups.

No matter what form government-sponsored enterprise reform takes, Federal Housing Finance Agency officials are stressing that it should account for the fact that the GSEs' capital buffer will soon hit zero.

Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens is confident that housing finance reform will move forward under the Trump administration, but criticized calls to simply let the government-sponsored enterprises recapitalize and be returned to shareholders without additional reforms.

Congressional action to reform housing finance is ultimately needed, but we must confront the risk of continued drift and inaction if Congress is unable to act.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a detailed transition plan Thursday designed to help policymakers turn the government-sponsored enterprises into private guarantors of mortgage-backed securities.

In a bitterly partisan Congress, two senators are making a rare push across party lines to solve a persistent riddle with huge implications for the U.S. housing market: What to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Suspending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regular dividend payments to the Treasury, thus enabling the companies to replenish their reserve capital, would put their future on better footing.