Like most GSE reform plans, the hedge funder’s plan to privatize Fannie and Freddie starts with Treasury writing down its senior preferred shares and FHFA sharply reducing the capital requirements for the GSEs.
NAMB has urged FHFA to end the GSEs’ use of LLPAs targeting second homes and investment properties and to lower the AMI threshold for borrowers to qualify for affordable housing programs.
CFPB researchers determined that, although loans for second homes declined after FHFA imposed steep fees on those loan types, the expected increase in primary-residence loans never materialized.
Although high interest rates have cut into GSE acquisitions, depriving PMIs of new business, they have also prevented homeowners from selling, allowing insurers to hold on to the business they have.
Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee asked the FHFA OIG to determine whether the agency’s director has broken any laws during his tumultuous first few weeks in office.
Smaller shops may support an end to the GSE conservatorships, but only if it’s done in a way that preserves pricing parity, avoids additional charters and maintains the cash window.