During a confirmation hearing last week, Trump’s nominee to head FHFA was noncommittal in response to questions about GSE reform, a hint that the administration has other priorities.
The government watchdog said federal agencies associated with housing finance have met three of five critical criteria for mitigating the risk they pose to taxpayers.
The annual increase in conforming loan limits creates a natural experiment for economists to examine how competition from nonbanks influences the operations of depositories.
Even though their businesses depend on Fannie and Freddie, private mortgage insurance providers don’t seem worried about the Trump administration’s efforts to release the GSEs from conservatorship.
FHFA must turn conservatorship directives into regulations before releasing the GSEs from conservatorship, according to former agency director Mark Calabria. But an explicit guarantee is unnecessary, he said.