GSE reform

With ruling in GSE case, the two agencies are emerging as the test subjects for a legal showdown over their authority.

A Fannie Mae test to handle the private mortgage insurance process for lenders may raise concerns that it's going outside the scope of its secondary market mission. But the effort reflects its mandate to explore new credit-risk transfer alternatives, a company executive said.

The Trump administration's plan to end the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac marked its first effort to solve a problem left over from the financial crisis, but ultimately raised more questions than it answered.

The plan would end the GSE conservatorships and create an explicit federal guarantee, but it's unclear if even other parts of the Trump administration support it.

Risk management and technology systems at the Federal Housing Administration lag decades behind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and desperately need to be revamped, according to a top official at HUD.