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Inside The GSEs

February 23, 2011

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Why Reinvent the GSE Wheel? Allies Ask

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear to have lost a lot of their support on Capitol Hill and even within the White House, but that hasn’t kept some of the GSEs’ most loyal allies from arguing that the companies don’t need to be eliminated, but perhaps just “rebooted.” “The GSEs’ role should be restored... Read More

Obama to Limit FHLB Portfolios, Membership

Life for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks would get noticeably more difficult if the restrictions on the Banks’ investment portfolios, their membership and the use of advances that were included in the Obama administration’s housing reform report to Congress are enacted. “The administration believes... Read More

GSE Debt Issuance Fell in 2010

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks all recorded significant declines in new debt issuance during 2010. The GSEs collectively issued $3.454 trillion in new debt during 2010, a decline of 25.3 percent from the previous year. New issuance effectively just replaced...[Includes one data chart] Read More

Loan Buyouts Keep GSE Portfolios From Shrinking

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchases of distressed loans from mortgage-backed securities nearly offset the run-off of the GSEs’ retained MBS holdings in 2010, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie held...[Includes one data chart] Read More

White House Ups Commitment to GSE Debt

One important detail that largely went unnoticed in all the hoopla generated with the release of the Obama administration’s housing reform white paper earlier this month was the increased explicit support the White House pledged to provide for the debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Throughout the transition, we remain committed... Read More

Congress Scrutinizes Fannie Legal Defense Fees

Former executives at Fannie Mae may have disgraced themselves and driven the company to the brink of insolvency, causing pensioners and investors to lose tens of billions of dollars as a result, if you believe their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Still, they are able to call upon... Read More

Rep. Issa Issues Subpoenas, SEC Issues Wells Notice

The fallout from the collapse of the mortgage market hit the fan again last week, with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, subpoenaing Bank of America for all documents and records related to Countrywide Financial Corp.’s controversial “friends of Angelo” program. Issa wants... Read More

FHFA Collaborating on Incentive Compensation Rule

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is working with a number of other federal agencies in issuing a proposed rule that would require the reporting of incentive-based compensation arrangements by covered financial institutions and prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements that encourage... Read More

FHLBs Want More Say on Merger Voting Criteria

The 12 Federal Home Loan Banks generally support the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recent proposed rule on voluntary FHLBank mergers, but they asked the FHFA to grant more authority to the individual Banks on related decisions, especially when it comes to voting on whether or not to merge. For instance, the proposed rule would require... Read More

News In Brief

FHLBank 2010 Net Up 12.2 Percent The Federal Home Loan Banks saw their collective net income rise from $1.86 billion in 2009 to $2.08 billion as of Dec. 31, 2010, an increase of 12.2 percent, according to preliminary figures released by the FHLBank Office of Finance as Inside The GSEs was going to press. The fourth quarter was... Read More

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