The Senate Banking Committee [1] will hold a hearing on the nomination of Mark Calabria as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency [2] (FHFA) on Thursday, February 14 at 10 a.m. EST. Along with Calabria, the Committee will also conduct hearings for Bimal Patel, of Georgia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury [3]; Todd M. Harper, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board [4]; and Rodney Hood, of North Carolina, to be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board.
The Trump administration announced Calabria's nomination to head the FHFA in December. He is currently the Chief Economist to Vice President Mike Pence. If confirmed, Calabria would have significant influence over the housing finance market at the FHFA. According to Bloomberg [5], Calabria had previously pushed for putting Fannie and Freddie into receivership. “Calabria, a former scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute, has also called for abolishing the mortgage-interest deduction, something millions of homeowners benefit from. In addition, he has supported getting rid of government subsidies for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage,” Bloomberg said.
Read about what the industry and regulators had to say about the nomination here [6].
Here's what else is happening in the week ahead:
- CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report, Tuesday, 10 a.m. EST
- MBA Mortgage Apps, Wednesday, 7 a.m. EST
- House Committee Hearing: “Homeless in America: Examining the Crisis and Solutions to End Homelessness, Wednesday, 10 a.m. EST
- Freddie Mac Q4 and Full Year Results, Thursday, 8 a.m. EST
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Thursday, 10 a.m. EST