Housing finance reform

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the outgoing committee chairman's bipartisan GSE reform bill, but lawmakers were already looking ahead.

The Democrat, who will likely head the Financial Services Committee, has signaled she'll make expanded housing opportunities for lower-income consumers a top priority.

The Trump administration should consider putting much of the subsidized mortgage lending done by the federal government under the government-sponsored enterprises to improve efficiency and transparency.

The revised blueprint by Moelis & Co. LLC incorporates a pending regulatory capital plan for the mortgage giants.

Donald Layton, who has run the mortgage giant since 2012, discussed the busy agenda leading up to his departure and says Freddie can serve as a "technical adviser" in GSE reform talks.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposal Wednesday that would require mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to align their policies on cash flows for current mortgage-backed securities, and eventually for a uniform security when it is implemented next year.

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.