Housing finance reform

Banks aren’t the only ones that need to keep pace with digital innovation — government agencies must also work to stay relevant.

Fannie Mae’s treatment of a reperforming loan package helped drive up earnings by almost 41% to $4.5 billion, delivering a stronger dividend to Treasury ahead of a leadership change.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship nearly a decade after the financial crisis, and there’s still no end in sight.

Whoever succeeds current Director Mel Watt will have a front-and-center role in efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The announcement comes as Fannie Mae promoted David Benson to serve as president of the government-sponsored enterprise.

The California Democrat would have more of a bully pulpit as chair of the Financial Services Committee, but some say she could take a pragmatic approach to passing banking legislation.

Instead of shrinking the GSEs, the housing regulator is letting them expand into a host of new products and programs.

The Trump administration's plan to end the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac marked its first effort to solve a problem left over from the financial crisis, but ultimately raised more questions than it answered.

Meet the new housing finance reform plan, same as the old ones. While that gives it legs, it also presents big challenges.

The plan would end the GSE conservatorships and create an explicit federal guarantee, but it's unclear if even other parts of the Trump administration support it.