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.
The amended preferred stock purchase agreement provides Treasury with a liquidation preference, which undermines the GSEs’ ability to afford an exit from conservatorship.
Mortgage insurers have endorsed the proposed guidelines, even arguing the process should be made more transparent and objective. However, Quicken believes it will stifle innovation by the GSEs.
The FHFA is looking for stakeholder views on the risks faced by the GSEs and the supervisory and regulatory framework necessary to meet these challenges.
Their new Senate majority, albeit a slim one, should make it easier for Democrats to pass key budget priorities. But what does it mean for Fannie and Freddie?
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he is “not going to do anything that jeopardizes taxpayers.” But his real concerns? How to adequately capitalize Fannie and Freddie first.
The FHFA wants the GSEs to hold liquid assets to cover 30 days of anticipated cash outflows, plus a $10 billion buffer. That’s similar to the liquidity coverage ratio employed by bank regulators.
Justice Breyer characterized the net worth sweep as the nationalization of the GSEs. The government and the court-appointed amicus curiae disagreed, describing it as a simple renegotiation of a contract.