Housing finance reform

Efforts to persuade regulators to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use alternative credit scores would stifle competition between the credit bureaus and FICO and do little to expand access to credit, according to industry analyst Chris Whalen.

Despite a direct request by six Democratic senators that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be allowed to rebuild capital, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did little to clarify the administration's thinking.

Former Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer will join securitization pioneer Lewis Ranieri at a new housing policy team at the Milken Institute.

The need to raise the U.S. debt limit, pass a budget, provide relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey and enact flood insurance and tax reform will dominate the remaining legislative calendar this fall.

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions defended the credit union tax exemption and called for other financial reforms during a meeting Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The gulf between those at the upper ends of the wealth ladder and lower-income Americans has worsened markedly since the financial crisis, despite the trillions of subsidies that taxpayers provide for housing.

Dividend payments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are due to come one day after the U.S. is estimated to hit the debt ceiling, raising the stakes in the debate over whether those payments should continue.

Credit risk transfers have emerged as more than just a method for mitigating taxpayer exposure. They could be a key component of comprehensive housing finance reform.

FHFA Director Mel Watt said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot use alternative credit models until other issues are resolved first.

A bipartisan duo of lawmakers is set Tuesday to introduce a bill designed to increase homeownership opportunities for “credit invisible” consumers.

Regardless of whether Congress could act, proponents don’t seem to fully appreciate the potential unintended consequences of a future without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Policymakers should differentiate between housing finance-related issues of real importance to the greater public interest, and those that concern only special interests.

The discounts that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used to offer large originators for selling them bulk bundles of mortgages continue to haunt small lenders, who worry a new housing finance system could revive the practice.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell stopped short of endorsing any single housing finance reform plan, but called on lawmakers to resolve what he described as the biggest unfinished business of the crisis.

The renewed debate on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is focused on how small and midsize banks would be affected.

From the largest banks to the smallest independents, policymakers want to hear the mortgage industry speak with one voice in the critical efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

Both parties appear interested in a deal on housing finance reform, but tough fights are ahead.

The Main Street GSE Reform Coalition offered three principles: creating a capital buffer for Fannie and Freddie, continuing with reforms by their regulator and ending the conservatorship that began in 2008.

The Senate is set to begin teeing up housing finance reform discussions at a Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, but many are skeptical that Congress will be able to succeed where it has failed in the past.

A key question for the future of housing finance is whether large and small lenders will both be able to compete, or will a new system favor Wall Street giants?