First-quarter earnings reports suggest the reduced size of Fannie Mae’s guarantee book of business may be impacting its market share vis a vis Freddie Mac.

GSE watchers believe that, to appropriately compensate the taxpayer for their government guarantee, Fannie and Freddie would have to pay a commitment fee as high as $46 billion a year.

Housing finance aficionados like the prospect of a GSE exit from conservatorship that includes the retention of the Treasury’s PSPA, especially if done in conjunction with a sovereign wealth fund.

Plaintiffs in Berkley Insurance v. FHFA may finally receive a $612.4 million jury award granted in August 2023.

Three former CEOs of the GSEs this week debated the impact of federal conservatorship, what steps must be taken to safely end the oversight and what the GSEs should look like afterwards.

Some economists believe eliminating all GSE MBS would lower rates on Treasury securities and reduce the government’s borrowing costs.

If the GSEs are released from conservatorship, some participants in the agency MBS market insist the to-be-announced market, uniform MBS and Fannie/Freddie CRT activity should remain untouched.

But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pursued different strategies in their retained mortgage portfolios. (Includes data table.)

Treasury Secretary Bessent’s cautious remarks about the prospect for GSE reform heighten industry skepticism about the release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship.

The leaders of the big REITs that invest in agency MBS want a federal backstop for GSE MBS to continue.