Time is of the essence if FHFA Director Mark Calabria wants Fannie and Freddie irrevocably out of conservatorship before a possible change in administrations in November.
The MBA argues that FHLB advances would offer REITs a cheap alternative to repo financing. One way to offset the added risk posed by REITs would be to increase the haircuts on their collateral requirements.
The steep fees to sell forbearance loans to the GSEs have led to tighter underwriting standards, which disproportionately impact borrowers of color, House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters said.
“CRT secondary markets have remained open throughout this crisis,” Freddie Mac's Mike Reynolds told Inside Mortgage Finance. “They were dramatically impacted by the COVID liquidity technical, as all markets were, but I think its important for your readers to know that trading still occurred."
Although the outlook for mortgage-investing REITs has improved since the Fed began buying agency MBS in March, it has not necessarily been evident in their dividends.