Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be wound down and terminated in the housing finance system of the future that combines greater private sector participation with a clearly delineated emergency government backstop, according to a reform plan released this week by four industry experts. Sponsored by the Milken Institute, the Urban Institute and Moody’s Analytics, the “Pragmatic Plan for Housing Finance Reform” would see the government play an “explicit and transparent” role to cover catastrophic losses but with an emphasis on mortgage funding diversity. The authors envision...

While some banks have started to securitize jumbo mortgages, the vast majority of jumbo originations remain in portfolio.

Yet another plan to reshape the mortgage market has been published, this one from noted housing economist Mark Zandi, and Ellen Seidman, once the nation's top S&L regulator.

MBA pushes for GSE AU engines to be synchronized. Meanwhile, a factoid of mortgage history: Treasury chief Paulson wanted Fannie and Freddie put in receivership.

Former GSE regulator James Lockhart noted that only one “catastrophic” guarantor is needed, though he stressed that “you need more than one issuer.”

Compensation for directors at each of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks increased in 2012, continuing a trend begun in 2011 where a director’s earnings “started to show a wide range across the FHLBanks for similar positions,” according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Lewis Ranieri, one of the inventors of the non-agency mortgage-backed security, said there are currently a lack of viable alternatives to agency mortgages.

“As lawmakers, it is time to open up our eyes and open up our minds to alternative models and a pathway forward,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, at the beginning of a hearing he convened this week to consider housing finance models without explicit government guaranties. Hensarling, along with many Republicans in his committee, is angling to replace the government-sponsored enterprises with some sort of a non-agency market. However, a number of obstacles exist in that path, including the preference among Democrats and a significant portion of industry players for the GSEs’ functions to be replaced with some form of government guaranty. Most of the witnesses at the hearing provided...

The amount of home-equity loans held by depository institutions continued to decline in early 2013, with little sign that banks, thrifts and credit unions are likely to ramp up their lending in the near future, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking.

The linchpin for a viable and comprehensive National Mortgage Database is to ensure that the identities of both mortgage borrowers and mortgage servicers from whom the statistical information is collected for analysis are protected behind a firm wall of security countermeasures, according to project architects.