Tag Archives: Conservatorship

In a report released by the Executive Office of the President, the administration recommended significant changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including ending their conservatorship and reducing the role of the GSEs in the market.

If the market crashes again, taxpayers are at risk. Congress seeks to reduce this risk by implementing reform the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but at what cost to borrowers?

The status quo for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be changing according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. He and FHFA Director Melvin Watt separately addressed the state of the GSEs Thursday. Watt explained that reforms during conservatorship need to be kept in mind when addressing housing finance reform.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin Watt testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Thursday on the status of the housing finance system after nine years of conservatorship. His message? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to be reformed, and soon, else taxpayers will be footing a hefty bill next year.

Tuesday marks the eight-year anniversary of the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Here's an in-depth look at the GSE's since the conservatorship took place.

FHFA's conservatorship scorecard called for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lay off a certain amount of risk on single-family mortgages in 2015. Exactly how much credit risk did they transfer?

While a recent speech by FHFA Director Mel Watt has fueled speculation that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be recapitalized and the conservatorship will end, Treasury said that no policy change is imminent.

What are some of the initiatives Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to implement in 2016?

Layton said Freddie Mac had moved on from the “early-years conservatorship mindset,” which saw the Enterprise being hesitant to take action while it waited for instructions from the government. Now, Layton said, “[w]e’re firmly facing the future, not the past.”

Swann and his team wrote in a report to clients that the impasse among lawmakers as to the future of the GSEs, the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been profitable since 2012, and the near recovery of most housing markets have made the privatization of the GSEs or any type of reform unlikely for the foreseeable future.