GSE reform

In the continued absence of legislation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator announced work on a new capital framework.

If Freddie Mac's credit-risk transfer activities continue to grow, mortgage lenders could eventually see a reduction in the guarantee fees they pay to the government-sponsored enterprise, according to CEO Donald Layton.

Momentum to overhaul the mortgage finance system had been slipping, and with Democrats divided over the Senate's banking relief bill there's virtually no chance more bipartisan deals can be worked out.

The annual progress report on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships reiterated that a new credit score model will likely not be operational until after the implementation of a new Single Security Initiative.

After several years of preparation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will start issuing a new, common mortgage-backed security starting June 3, 2019, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday.

The Supreme Court dealt hedge funds and other big investors a blow Tuesday by refusing to revive core parts of lawsuits that challenged the federal government’s capture of billions of dollars in profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite a legislative push by some senators and other stakeholders to jump-start housing finance reform, efforts to form consensus over a bill once again are stuck in neutral.

Housing finance reformers are pushing full steam ahead to get a bill introduced before the political calendar makes passage nearly impossible.

Senate negotiators are working on a bill that would place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership and replace them with multiple mortgage guarantors, according to sources.

The GSEs are on their way to paying back the money they owed the government under the original bailout deal made at the height of the financial crisis, making 2018 an opportune time for an overhaul of the housing finance market.