There is widespread consensus about the future role of the government in mortgage finance, but it’s by no means homogenous. The Trump administration gets to name a new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who can work with Treasury to steer the GSEs toward a revised, likely narrower, role. The new FHFA chief will have command of the enterprises for five years, with dim prospects of Congress tackling long-term reform. Michael Stegman, senior fellow for housing policy at ...
This week’s midterm election ushered in a sea-change in the House of Representatives but it’s uncertain how it will influence housing finance reform. Now that the Democrats are the majority in the House, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is in line to serve as chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Back in July, Waters said fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be a top priority if Democrats take control of the House. She’s been at odds with outgoing chair, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX ...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to do away with some of the targeted housing goals for the Federal Home Loan Banks in favor of a more streamlined approach. The regulator issued a proposed rule last week that would remove separate home-purchase mortgage targets for low-income families, low-income areas, very low-income families, and a target for low-income family refinance mortgages. The FHFA recommends replacing those four goals with one succinct goal that doesn’t ...
The Federal Home Loan Bank System’s combined net income dropped 3.0 percent in the third quarter of 2018 but year-to-date profits were still a comfortable 10.4 percent above the same period last year. Advances were down 1.9 percent year-over-year, having dropped 3.9 percent for the quarter. The FHLBank Office of Finance reported that third-quarter net income was $942 million, down slightly from $971 million in the second quarter. But cumulative ... [Includes one data chart]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transferred risk on about $367 billion of unpaid principal balance in the first half of the year as the GSEs target a larger share of single-family loans. The Federal Housing Finance Agency published a credit-risk transfer progress report last week highlighting activity through the second quarter of 2018. This report marks the first time the FHFA is reporting the percentage of the GSEs’ targeted single-family and multifamily acquisitions that are covered by credit-risk transfer ...
FHFA and CFPB Release New Loan-Level Dataset. The Federal Housing Finance Agency along with the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau on Nov. 8 released for public use a new loan-level dataset collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO) that provides insights into borrowers’ experiences in getting a residential mortgage. FHFA Deputy Director Sandra Thompson said, “The goal of the survey is to obtain information ... [Includes four briefs]
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