Fannie Mae

There is bipartisan agreement in the Senate that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "too big to fail" but some lawmakers are skeptical that a SIFI designation is appropriate.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has appeared willing to take its own steps to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but legislation would be necessary to create an explicit guarantee of the mortgage system.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was adamant that the Trump administration won’t just let Fannie and Freddie build up their capital buffers and then release the companies. He also said he backed an explicit government guarantee, something only Congress can do.

The consolidation of the two companies' securitization platforms into a single bond market became official on Monday.

The launch of a combined securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is meant to ease the transition to a new housing finance system. But questions remain about how the mortgage sphere will adapt to the single security.