Industry participants are divided on whether legislation under consideration in Congress to reform the government-sponsored enterprises will help encourage an increase in private capital in the mortgage market. In a speech this week, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was adamant that the GSE reform bill from Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, will encourage non-agency investors to return to the mortgage market ...

It’s now or never for Congress to pass legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises, according to Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Industry analysts predict that Congress is highly unlikely to finish work on GSE reform this year, extending uncertainty in the mortgage market. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is scheduled to markup GSE reform legislation next week ...

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said this week that housing finance reform can no longer be put off, but no more so than for the FHA which continues to play an “outsized role” in the mortgage market as private capital remains on the sidelines. Speaking in New York at an event co-hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, Donovan said the Obama administration is squarely behind the legislative proposal by Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-ID. “Despite its imperfections, does this bill represent progress? Absolutely,” said Donovan, seeking to win over housing advocacy groups disenchanted with the bill. “When looking for ways to improve [the bill], let’s not lose sight of its potential. Let’s not forget its importance to the housing market and its future.” The Johnson-Crapo legislative proposal calls for a wind-down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and creation of a ...

Declaring this week that “inaction is simply not an option,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said that the Senate’s pending bipartisan housing finance reform bill represents “the single best chance” to overhaul the mortgage-finance market this decade. Speaking in New York at an event co-hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, Donovan said the Obama administration is squarely behind the legislative proposal by Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-ID. “Despite its imperfections, does...

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held more than 10 hearings last year in advance of the housing-finance reform bill introduced in March by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID. However, the bill appears to be far from perfect, as industry participants are angling to make suggestions for changes as the committee plans a markup at the end of this month. Perhaps the biggest outstanding issue with S.1217 is that even though the Johnson-Crapo bill calls for the preservation of the to-be-announced market, the capital-markets execution contemplated under the new housing-finance system might not be compatible with TBA transactions. The Johnson-Crapo version of S. 1217 doesn’t have...

While Congress is halfway through its two-week Easter/Passover recess, political pressure continues to build against the Senate’s bipartisan housing finance reform legislation, leading to growing doubt whether the scheduled markup of the bill will occur as scheduled later this month. At the moment, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee has only the bare minimum majority of 12 of the 22 committee members pledged to support the GSE legislative reform bill crafted by Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-ID.

New groups of disgruntled GSE junior shareholders have taken their demands for redress to the next level by rallying against the Senate’s pending bipartisan housing finance reform legislation. Earlier this month, the Coalition for Mortgage Security said it would campaign for legislation that protects the rights of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors. The group opposes the reform legislation fronted by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the city of Chicago have reached a face-saving settlement in a longstanding legal dispute over whether Fannie and Freddie, as entities under federal conservatorship, are subject to the city’s vacant-building ordinance. Under the terms of a settlement reached earlier this month but announced last week, the two GSEs will voluntarily register vacant properties with the city but won’t be subject to a $500 registration fee. The FHFA will also no longer seek to recover registration fees or penalties already paid to Chicago.

The drumbeat of opposition to the Senate’s housing finance reform legislation grew louder this week after a coalition of small lender groups said the proposal needs to be modified. Some lawmakers are openly disparaging the bill’s prospects, prompting open speculation that the scheduled April 29 markup will be postponed. The bipartisan housing-finance reform bill crafted by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, would replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a new secondary-market structure through which a variety of private entities could issue mortgage-backed securities with a partial government guaranty. It specifically provides for one or more mutually-owned companies that would provide access for smaller lenders. The proposed legislation also sets up...

FHA Commissioner Carol Galante quashed any industry hope of seeing mortgage insurance premiums lowered at this time, saying that while the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund has shown some improvement, full recovery is still far off. In remarks during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Advocacy Conference this week, Galante also defended a provision in the president’s FY 2015 budget proposal seeking statutory authority for the FHA to collect an administrative fee from lenders to help fund quality control improvements. Both issues are high up on the MBA’s lobbying priorities as members gathered in Washington, DC, this week to meet with lawmakers and their staff to discuss FHA and other key industry concerns. Galante said the Department of Housing and Urban Development is currently focused on strengthening the MMI Fund and expanding access to credit for all qualified borrowers. The FHA raised pricing five times from ...