GSE reform

A former housing regulator confirmed that he anticipates a release from conservatorship would occur if Trump's elected, adding to other signs a plan is brewing.

The plan from the Heritage Foundation, a group the first Trump administration was largely in line with, would shutter CFPB, break up HUD and raise FHA premiums.

Led by Rep. French Hill, the group of conservative lawmakers said the agency must do more to ensure appropriate transparency regarding any new products or activities that the enterprises undertake.

Consumer advocates and mortgage industry officials are urging Sandra Thompson, the new acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to undo many policies that her predecessor, Mark Calabria, put in place over the past year.

The Supreme Court decision cleared the way for further revisions to the agreements between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury, which could include dismissing the January changes.

The Community Home Lenders Association has called for suspension of federal limits on the loan volumes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase from individual lenders. The demand came on the same day that the Biden administration fired FHFA Director Mark Calabria and started the process of nominating his successor.

Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, the Banking Committee's top Republican, is talking up the prospects of a bipartisan deal to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Democratic leaders sound less motivated to change the status quo for the government-sponsored enterprises.

Relying on retained earnings alone, it would be until at least 2036, if not longer, before government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae might end.

The announcement signals an openness to creating something many GOP lawmakers have long resisted: a federal guarantee of the trillions of dollars of mortgage bonds that Fannie and Freddie issue, a rep for P.A. senator said.

If new housing policy initiatives are not adopted by Congress, the Biden Administration may seek to push the GSEs into receivership, which would damage the conventional market, columnist and analyst Chris Whalen says.