Housing finance reform

Despite changes by the Federal Housing Administration, bankers remain reluctant to join the program for fear of legal liability. But that could change if it revamps servicing processes, experts say.

The U.S. Supreme Court may soon decide if it will intervene in a high-stakes fight over the government-sponsored enterprise net worth sweep.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discussed the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate under a consent order to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to be able to raise capital.

Polls showing an upswing for President Trump's re-election chances against top potential Democratic candidates favor housing finance and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to Height Capital Markets.

A risk-based capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is expected to top the agenda in 2020 as the companies' regulator executes plans for their release into the private sector.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are pressuring Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuch to provide more details on administration plans to end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The House Financial Services chair is sponsoring a bill with one of the Democratic presidential contenders aimed at alleviating the public housing capital backlog.

Changing or eliminating the exemption to the qualified mortgage rule could harm consumers and put smaller lenders at a disadvantage to the big banks.

There's been chatter that investors are shying away from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities because Congress may not enact housing finance reform. Be skeptical of those claims.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

Recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac activities are “not the kind of day-to-day behavior that you would expect from companies” under federal control, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

A lower court “erred” when it sided with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s investors, the Justice Department said in its petition to the high court.

When it comes to possible new competitors in the secondary market, the heads of the two current outlets more than welcomed the possibility of additional players in their space because of housing finance reform.

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discussed steps the companies have already taken to limit their risk, as well as efforts to prevent housing market “overlap” with the FHA.

At a House hearing covering a whole host of housing finance reform topics, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator said "if the circumstances" call for eliminating investors, "we will."

As lawmakers tackle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, any revamp must lessen risk to the mortgage system and U.S. taxpayers.

Allowing the mortgage giants to retain profits resolves a short-term capital shortfall, but how much capital they would need after exiting conservatorship is still the bigger question.

The Trump administration's thinking on housing is filled with conflicts and contradictions, a quilt work of at times irrational proposals that seem to be at odds with the real world of mortgage finance.

The move to alter the government's preferred stock purchase agreements is the first major one under FHFA Director Mark Calabria's tenure to wind down the conservatorship of the government-sponsored enterprises.

The shareholders' claims against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator mirror arguments in cases challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.