GSE reform

The new rules are disproportionate particularly in light of the GSEs’ recent record of profitability, the director of the Community Home Lenders Association writes.

“Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Mark Calabria’s decisions to date are conservative and imply a slow death for the GSEs and IMBs operating in the conventional market,” analyst Chris Whalen writes.

Also: How 9.3 million renters could enter the purchase market, lessons from Flagstar’s data breach and a possible 15-year plan for Fannie and Freddie.

Relying on retained earnings alone, it would be until at least 2036, if not longer, before government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae might end.

The announcement signals an openness to creating something many GOP lawmakers have long resisted: a federal guarantee of the trillions of dollars of mortgage bonds that Fannie and Freddie issue, a rep for P.A. senator said.

If new housing policy initiatives are not adopted by Congress, the Biden Administration may seek to push the GSEs into receivership, which would damage the conventional market, columnist and analyst Chris Whalen says.

The agency that supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has pushed for revising an agreement with the Treasury Department allowing the mortgage giants to retain their profits. A deal could be out of reach once Joe Biden takes office.

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

The proposal builds on guidance the agency gave to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier this year.

Last year, smaller lenders were put at a slight disadvantage in terms of what they were charged in guarantee fees when they sold loans for cash.