Even if lawmakers can’t agree on how or whether to release the GSEs from conservatorship, there are incremental steps they can take, according to former FHFA Director Mark Calabria.

Some industry groups are calling for a legislative solution to ending the conservatorships; others say FHFA and Treasury can do it themselves.

Mortgage industry stakeholders speculate about who Trump will nominate to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and determine whether they remain in conservatorship or are re-privatized.

Although a Republican victory in November might revive efforts to release the GSEs from conservatorship, this would likely be a multi-year effort, according to the former FHFA director.

Housing finance aficionados may doubt Fannie and Freddie will ever exit conservatorship, but that doesn’t stop them from telling you what that exit would look like.

SFA leader says ending GSE conservatorships would lead to unsustainable credit downgrades for Fannie and Freddie.

FHFA recently changed the upfront fees charged by Fannie and Freddie, in part to help meet the highly conservative capital requirements imposed on them by former Director Mark Calabria. Now, critics of the fees have joined critics of the conservatorship.

Former FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco and the American Bankers Association have endorsed releasing the GSEs from conservatorship. Industry observers aren’t optimistic about any moves in the near term.

The former FHFA director claims that Wall Street critics worried his policies would cut into their profits.

Freddie’s underwriting will include a review of a borrower’s bank account data to identify a history of positive monthly cash flow activity.