News Topic: GSEs

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. ... Read full article

Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia are acknowledging the legislative efforts to end government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dead, at least for now. ... Read full article

For nearly a decade, the FHFA has restricted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from trying to influence the raging debate over whether they should live or die. ... Read full article

Freddie Mac has quietly started extending credit to nonbanks that issue mortgages, a move it says will help the companies maintain access to a crucial stockpile of cash if their home loans go sour. ... Read full article

Fannie Mae's first-quarter profits were enough for it to rebuild its minimum capital buffer and pay the Treasury Department dividend after being forced to take a draw during the previous fiscal period. ... Read full article

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. ... Read full article

The Treasury secretary has said that he doesn't see changes to the housing finance system happening this year, but he's hopeful something can be done after the elections. ... Read full article

The reserve bank's proposal to address banks and nonbanks that remain "too big to fail" does not include two of the largest such institutions: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ... Read full article

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. ... Read full article

A BankThink argues that Treasury's GSE cash infusions are just the return of stolen money; MUFG wants its Union Bank to be one of the nation's 10 largest; fintech promises a 30-minute mortgage; and more. ... Read full article

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. ... Read full article

Servicers are still trying to figure out how they can best take advantage of the growing use of electronic notes and other digital mortgage tools by lenders and the secondary market. ... Read full article

News that the GSEs need an infusion from Treasury to cover quarterly losses underscores problems with the government’s 2012 decision to “sweep” the housing giants’ profits. ... Read full article

As policymakers take another crack at housing finance reform, federal leaders and the housing lobby are once again perpetuating the false notion that ending government guarantees would cause the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage to vanish. ... Read full article

A mortgage program created by a 2015 partnership between the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Ginnie Mae has securitized over $1 billion in government-backed mortgages, the partnership announced. ... Read full article

President Trump is expected to announce as early as Thursday morning that he has selected Larry Kudlow, the host of CNBC's "The Kudlow Report," to replace Gary Cohn as head of the National Economic Council, according to multiple media ... Read full article

Freddie Mac and Arch Capital are testing a new form of risk-sharing deal to boost investor appetite for low down payment mortgages. But the pilot is raising concerns about "charter creep" because it dictates private mortgage insurance decisions ... Read full article

A clear government backstop for the mortgage market would benefit small banks and investors by ensuring a stable and liquid secondary market for securities. ... Read full article