Hannah Lang

Housing finance reform is still likely years away, but a growing chorus of lawmakers say the government guarantor has the ability to clear the path to a final plan.

The proposal by Reps. Jeb Hensarling and John Delaney is a sign that a bipartisan consensus is building on how to move on from Fannie and Freddie.

The departing House Financial Services chair unveiled a bill with Democrat John Delaney to repeal Fannie and Freddie's charters and establish Ginnie Mae as a backstop.

The agencies had proposed revisions designed to make compliance less complex, but banks have expressed concern that the plan could have the opposite effect.

Maybe political winds or another downturn will spark housing finance reform. But 10 years after the conservatorships began, the companies are still in perpetual limbo.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

The committee approved the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite strong Democratic opposition, as well as President Trump's picks for Ginnie Mae, the Export-Import Bank and several other positions.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., released a survey of lending practices that he said point to practices such as forced arbitration clauses and extracting a customer’s credit score to determine creditworthiness.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.

The regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises has substantial authority to intervene as a legislative stalemate continues.