If confirmed as Treasury’s head of domestic finance, Jonathan McKernan could have a say in whether the GSEs are released from conservatorship. If so, he may have to renounce an FHFA rule created when he was senior counsel at the agency.

At the urging of FHFA Director Bill Pulte, Freddie is accelerating its release of “on hold” technologies that may help cut origination costs.

Fannie’s Desktop Underwriter and Freddie’s Loan Product Advisor were both updated to include FHFA’s 2025 area median income figures. The changes affect eligibility for duty-to-serve and affordable housing programs.

Using HMDA data, an academic researcher shows that the guarantee fees charged by the GSEs are above-market rate based on risk-adjusted profits.

Fannie announces tender offer; Freddie prices SLST securitization; winners announced for Fannie NPL sale.

Freddie’s guarantee book of business rose from $3.104 trillion at the end of 2024 to $3.115 trillion as of the end of March. Fannie’s fell from $3.622 trillion to $3.610 trillion. (Includes data table.)

FHFA Director Bill Pulte made some media appearances recently, explaining some of the actions he’s taking and detailing priorities involving the GSEs and Federal Home Loan Banks.

Critics say capital is not necessarily the main impediment to ending the conservatorship. A bigger problem is the lack of planning on what the GSEs should look like after they exit.

Servicers can get a head start on data reconciliation by taking advantage of a waiver of compensatory fees for servicing data requests.

New Fannie exec; another tender offer; OIG fraud investigation; Fannie board member buys stock.