The watchdog agency charged with overseeing the regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks said it has numerous audits and evaluations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the pipeline.According to two separate but related reports by the Office of the Inspector General of the FHFA issued late last month, the FHFA-OIG is in the midst of a total of 17 ongoing or planned reviews of the Finance Agency.

A trio of housing trade associations went to bat for the role of government-sponsored enterprises this week, but not necessarily for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, arguing that GSEs, as well as the government itself has a role in the reform of the housing finance system. During testimony this week before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, representatives from the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders and the National Multi Housing Council/National Apartment Association warned lawmakers that the current efforts to wind down Fannie and Freddie must not disrupt the already fragile housing and...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities remained a preferred investment for the Federal Home Loan Banks during the first quarter of 2011 with only a negligible decrease from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities continued to grow in popularity within the FHLBank system during the first three months of this year. GSE MBS still accounted for 66.7 percent of combined FHLBank MBS portfolios. The Finance Agency’s data do not separately break out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac volume or share. Ginnie MBS grew by... [Includes one data chart]

While federal agencies gather comments on a proposed rule to establish margin and capital requirements for various swap entities, experts say it’s not altogether clear how the proposed rule would apply to the GSEs. Final comments are due June 24 on a rule proposed by five federal agencies that would require swap entities regulated by the agencies to collect minimum amounts of initial margin and variation margin from counterparties to non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps. The five agencies that issued the proposed rule last month are the Federal Reserve, the Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp...

During testimony this week before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, housing trade association representatives warned lawmakers that the current efforts to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must not disrupt the already fragile housing and secondary mortgage markets. National Association of Home Builders First Vice Chairman Barry Rutenberg told Senators that Fannie and Freddie should neither be converted to government agencies nor should their functions be completely turned over to the private market. Instead. NAHB supports making major changes in the structure and operations of the secondary mortgage market not unlike...

Lawmakers on a House subcommittee last week approved by a wide bipartisan margin a bill that would create a legislative framework for a covered bond market in the U.S. and, some critics contend, an unnecessary competitor to the Federal Home Loan Bank system.

A large investment portfolio intended to generate added earnings is inconsistent with the purposes of the Federal Home Loan Bank System and is a "misuse" of the system's preferential access to capital markets, the head of the FHLB’s regulator told Bank directors this week. [Includes one data chart.]

The member advance business – the core product line for the Federal Home Loan Banks – continued to decline at the end of 2010, hitting a nine-year low. The 12 FHLBanks reported a total of $478.6 billion in outstanding advances at the end of last year, down 24.2 percent from the end of 2009. It was the lowest volume of... [Includes two data charts]

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle is making progress in light of its ongoing struggles in the mortgage market but significant challenges remain, according to a recent ratings announcement by Fitch Ratings. Last week, Fitch announced it has assigned long-term and short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to the...

The advance business of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks continued to shrink again in the fourth quarter of 2010, dropping 24.2 percent from the previous year to $478.59 billion, according to preliminary figures released by the FHLBank Office of Finance. The decline came...[Includes one data chart]