Freddie Mac’s Voluntary Early Retirement Program resulted in 600 buyouts by the end of 2020, but salaries and benefits expenses actually rose in the short term.

Fannie may no longer be competing with Freddie when it comes to CRT market share. It may now be chasing JPMorgan Chase for second place.

In addition to a couple of traditional K-deals, Freddie Mac offered sustainability bonds and deals based on supplemental loans and small-balance loans.

The new version of Fannie’s DU program will penalize student debt and income from auxiliary units but reduce the sting of self-employed income.

Because of the terms of the CARES Act, not only are borrowers in forbearance allowed to skip their monthly payments, but servicers are prevented from reporting their mortgages as past due.

If the GSEs’ margins from the first three quarters of 2020 hold, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could earn combined profits of $19.9 billion for the year.

New Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has yet to pick who will lead housing policy and GSE reform in the Biden administration. However, liberal think tanks may be a good place to look.

The MBA said it will continue to negotiate the suspect provision of the PSPA, while Rob Zimmer of the CMLA hinted at efforts to abrogate the new rule.

Newly installed SBC Chair Sherrod Brown lambasted FHFA for ignoring the spirit of the CARES Act by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell nonperforming and reperforming loans during the pandemic.

An endorsement from international ESG ratings firm Sustainalytics could whet investors’ appetite for Fannie Mae’s social and green MBS offerings.