Regulatory reform

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.

CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger announced the creation of a task force to research and identify potential conflicts in consumer finance law.

Institutions that offer fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit will get another two-year exemption from reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

The industry had welcomed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plan allowing debt collectors to use electronic communication, but some worry about the effect of a court decision concerning email correspondence.

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 three federal banking agencies moved to raise the threshold for residential transactions that require an appraisal from $250,000 to $400,000.

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

A hearing on legislative proposals exposed a sharp partisan divide over a regulatory plan to restrict the frequency of collection calls.

The recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the 2020 election is unlikely even if the net worth sweep ends, according to a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report.

The proposed reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have gotten all the attention, but the administration also wants to scale back the Federal Housing Administration, expand its capital cushion and adopt risk-based pricing. Some of the ideas have former agency officials concerned.

The agency put to rest speculation that it might take the database offline, yet new disclosure statements are meant to combat the notion that a complaint proves a company’s guilt.

The FHFA can go beyond a recent Trump administration report to level the playing field between the private sector and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suggested that a finalized capital framework for the two mortgage giants could be published by the end of the year.