DS News Magazine Preview: The Latest on GSE Reform

Since assuming office, Federal Housing Finance Association Director Mark Calabria has put his focus on taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship. The April issue of DS News, puts the GSEs’ move out of conservatorship under the microscope. In this month’s cover story, “Finding a Path to GSE Reform,” servicers and other subject-matter experts discuss the GSEs’ history, the stakes involved, and the challenges ahead.

In 2019, the GSEs took an important step toward privatization when the FHFA announced the hiring of Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc., as its financial advisor to assist in the development of a plan to conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Tim Rood, Chairman and co-founder of the Collingwood Group, told DS News that this announcement is an “important milestone” in the process to end conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“The FHFA still needs to produce a capital plan from which the advisor will work from to develop a capital restoration roadmap for the GSEs,” Rood said.

The discussion continues in “Housing Reform: Here and Now, Then and Later,” written by Rohit Gupta, President and CEO, Genworth Mortgage Insurance. As the government and industry work to build and maintain a more stable housing market, Gupta examines what factors must be at the forefront of this process, with the GSE's conservatorship serving as a "hot button issue."

Next up, Auction.com’s VP of Market Economics, Daren Blomquist, brings us “Sell While the Sun Shines.” Blomquist explores why now is the time for sellers of distressed properties to act—and reveals some best practices on how to proceed while opportunity is still knocking.

In “Leveraging Machine Learning for Better Default Decisions,” Miriam Moore, Division President of Default Services for ServiceLink, discusses why the potential for artificial intelligence to drive industry innovation isn’t limited to the origination sector.

Finally, in “With Your Permission,” Lynn Sheck, SVP of Enterprise and Strategic Sales at Finicity, takes a look at the ways consumer-permissioned data is transforming default servicing.

For all these stories and more, read the April edition of DS News here, out now.