Cart

Inside The GSEs

October 21, 2009

View Archived Issues

Weakened GSEs Snared in Derivatives Bill

Former superpowers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be exposed to another level of government oversight soon, thanks to legislation passed last week by the House Financial Services Committee that would revamp the regulation of the massive $592 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market. The legislation, H.R. 3795, the Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009, would require many... Read More

FHFA Yields on Public Interest Directors

At a time when the Federal Home Loan Banks find it harder to attract members for their boards, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has decided to yield a bit of autonomy back to them when it comes to issues relating to their boards’ composition. On Sept. 26, 2008, the FHFA published an interim final rule to implement certain provisions of the Housing and Economic... Read More

Government Agencies Gobble GSE Issuance

The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve continue to dominate the market for mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, effectively buying all new production so far in 2009.The two federal entities made gross purchases totaling $1.285 trillion of MBS issued by Fannie and Freddie through the first nine months of the year. Because the Fed engages in a significant... Read More

White House Taps GSEs Again to Ride to the Rescue

It’s time for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to put on their white cowboy hats again, as the Obama administration has launched a new phase of its Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that will involve having the two GSEs provide liquidity support to state and local housing finance agencies to stimulate new lending. The administration’s new HFA Initiative, put together... Read More

Mortgage Mending Likely to Dominate GSE Agenda

While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have generated near-record levels of new mortgage business in 2009, much of the attention of GSE executives – and their regulator – has been focused on coming up with remedies for a severely distressed market. Based on comments by top agency and GSE officials at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association held last week, that focus... Read More

FRE Advances Warehouse Pilot, Sans Public Input

Freddie Mac last week publicly made a modest foray into the warehouse lending sphere, announcing a pilot program under which it will provide participating warehouse lenders with standby commitments to purchase qualifying loans in the event one of Freddie’s seller/servicer fails or otherwise cannot meet its contractual obligations. But once again, like just about every new... Read More

Market Too Touchy to Fiddle With FNM, FRE Right Now

Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill and other free market academics and think tank types have been complaining for months now that the Obama administration’s proposal to overhaul the regulation of the nation’s financial institutions doesn’t yet address Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But some industry observers are increasingly of the opinion that the White House is just being practical... Read More

FHLBanks Will Continue to Face Hurdles

Though they are under a much less intense public spotlight than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks also face significant challenges in the coming year, according to the head of one of the largest FHLBanks. Dean Schultz, president and CEO of the San Francisco FHLBank, noted at the annual meeting of the Mortgage Bankers Association last week that the ongoing distress... Read More

News In Brief

Obama White House Dragging Its Heels on FHFA IG Appointment: The Federal Housing Finance Agency is... GSEs Should be Recapitalized, KBW Analysts Say: The stocks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are... GSEs Still Best Option for Housing Finance, Credit Suisse Says: With GSE restructuring increasingly back in... FHLBank of Pittsburgh Taps Winthrop Watson as New COO: The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh announced... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results