Fannie Mae’s board chairman and the mayor of Atlanta are in a heated dispute over roughly 100 acres of vacant land that the city said was supposed to serve the low-income population. In fact, Mayor Kasim Reed is suing Egbert Perry and has asked him to step down from his position as non-executive chairman of Fannie’s board. Perry, co-founder and CEO of the Integral Group, joined the GSE’s board in late 2008, and has been chair since 2014. He says he hasn’t done anything wrong. The argument stems from what the mayor calls a “secret deal” made with Integral in 2011 by Renee Glover, the former president and CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, who now serves on Fannie’s board.

The Seventh Circuit Court recently reversed an earlier decision that held buyers purchasing property in Chicago from Fannie Mae were liable for state and local transfer taxes. The case involved real property transfer taxes imposed in 2013 and 2014 on purchasers who argued they were legally exempt from having to pay. The Illinois Department of Finance assessed the buyers for the tax. But since the property was purchased from a federal agency, the buyers believed they were exempt from having to pay. The buyers and Fannie then both sued the City of Chicago and asked the federal court to review the finance department’s decision.

Think Tank Makes a Case for GSEs to Become SIFIs. Alex Pollock, senior fellow at the R Street Institute, along with author Thomas Stanton, wrote Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin this week urging him to designate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs).They said that it’s obvious the mortgage giants meet all the criteria specified by the Dodd-Frank Act and the Financial Stability Board for designation as SIFIs and they want the same protective capital and regulatory standards applied to the...

The nominee was critical of the Fed’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and its purchases of MBS...

At press time, Walter’s share price was up 38 percent on the day to $0.52. However, its five-year high is $45.92.

Mick Mulvaney has been in charge of the CFPB all week and we’ve yet to hear one prediction that subprime mortgage lending will revive with a vengeance…

Mulvaney’s ascension has raised expectations the bureau will alter its legal positions in high-profile cases such as those involving Ocwen Financial and PHH…

Acting Ginnie Mae president Michael Bright said the task force is examining critical issues, important data and lender behaviors related to refinancing loans…

Industry lobbyists believe one key legislator in favor of the Ginnie concept is House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX…

The new boss at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Mick Mulvaney – wasted no time this week in beginning to steer a new course for the controversial agency.