Housing finance reform

Housing finance reform discussions are heating up and there's a growing sense that legislation can be enacted sooner rather than later. Here's why.

A hedge fund proposal for freeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from U.S. control is poised to face stiff opposition from investors who say it risks wrecking the mortgage-bond market.

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.

The ICBA backs a plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie through retained earnings and public offerings, but other groups see it as a self-interested proposal to help GSE stockholders.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was pressed for his views on housing finance reform, what a “modernized” version of the Glass-Steagall Act would look like and a two-tiered regulatory system.

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.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to face tough questions on the OCC, Glass-Steagall and housing finance reform when he testifies on Thursday.

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.

If proposed tax cuts were enacted, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be required to make an initial adjustment that could wipe out their capital.

The Treasury secretary on Monday reiterated an aggressive timetable for tackling the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an issue that has long flummoxed Congress.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling said they believed an agreement on housing finance reform could be struck in this Congress.

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.

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.

The groups and industry trade associations want the Treasury Department and the FHFA to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to build up capital reserves.

Implementation of the second phase of the common securitization platform had been projected for next year, but the anticipated time frame was delayed following "lessons learned" from the first phase.

Though it's too early to have a concrete plan regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the administration is creating a set of principles that it hopes to release in a few months.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson is open to finding alternatives to the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but believes there must be some government backstop to the housing market.