Fannie Mae

The gulf between those at the upper ends of the wealth ladder and lower-income Americans has worsened markedly since the financial crisis, despite the trillions of subsidies that taxpayers provide for housing.

Dividend payments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are due to come one day after the U.S. is estimated to hit the debt ceiling, raising the stakes in the debate over whether those payments should continue.

Credit risk transfers have emerged as more than just a method for mitigating taxpayer exposure. They could be a key component of comprehensive housing finance reform.

The government-sponsored enterprise is still looking for the right balance between offering a product that's attractive to investors and a cost-effective way to reduce risk.

The Federal Reserve was not an economic buyer; it accumulated its vast holdings of mortgage bonds for policy reasons; Fannie Mae's chief economist, Douglas Duncan, looks at who might step up, and at what yield.

The government-sponsored enterprises transferred $5.5 billion of credit risk on $174 billion of mortgages in their portfolios during the first quarter.

Rather than working with large-scale investors, Freddie Mac said it will focus on assisting community organizations and local institutions to fund single-family properties for renters with special needs.

Property Assessed Clean Energy loans can no longer be offered in unincorporated areas of Kern County, Calif. The controversial loans, meant to promote energy efficiency, began in California and are now offered in a number of states.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency made just incremental changes to two of the seven affordable housing benchmarks.

The Senate is set to begin teeing up housing finance reform discussions at a Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, but many are skeptical that Congress will be able to succeed where it has failed in the past.