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.
With the Trump administration appearing willing to shake up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without Congress, Reps. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said legislative action should be a priority.
The head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator blamed “burdensome” local regulations for a lack of housing supply, and also provided an update on the administration’s plan for GSE reform.
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.
In his first public policy speech as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria stressed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have to raise significant capital via a public offering and take other steps in order to escape government control.
New FHFA Director Mark Calabria isn't just charting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also fixing problems resulting from the "Qualified Mortgage" exemption for the GSEs and taking a "deep dive" into problems in the mortgage servicing market.
