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?
Read More »Treasury: Recap and Release Not Happening
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.
Read More »Director Watt: GSEs Must Focus on Liquidity, Credit Access and Common Securitization in 2016
What are some of the initiatives Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to implement in 2016?
Read More »Freddie Mac CEO Says Future Is Bright Despite No Plans to End Conservatorship
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.”
Read More »Government’s Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Unlikely to Change, Analyst Says
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.
Read More »Conservatorship Continues Seven Years Later With No End In Sight
While many housing stakeholders and lawmakers agree that the conservatorship needs to end, the issue of the GSEs' future remains a source of contention. Some of the GSEs' biggest investors, such as Fairholme Funds and Pershing Square, have filed lawsuits over the sweeping of GSE profits into Treasury, which began in 2012 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac returned to profitability.
Read More »Judge Orders Treasury to Disclose GSE Conservatorship Documents in Fairholme Suit
Fairholme Funds made the request in court against the GSEs, claiming that their investor ownership stake was taken unlawfully from them by the government when the conservatorship occurred. Fairholme's efforts are a step toward getting their ownership stake returned to them.
Read More »FHFA Updates Congress on GSEs’ Progress On Foreclosure Prevention, NPL Sales
Also in 2014, FHFA and the GSEs reviewed and made enhancements to requirements for foreclosure alternatives, forbearance plans, and rate-reset notifications. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced in July the expansion of home retention solutions for Standard and Streamlined modifications, enabling eligible borrowers with mark-to-market LTV ratios below 80 percent to obtain a loan modification.
Read More »White Paper Authors Warn of the Cost of Reprivatizing GSEs
Currently their line of credit with Treasury would provide about 5 percent capitalization and the current guarantee fee of 63 basis points would provide about 3 percent; they would need to increase their G-fees by about 27 basis points to raise the additional 2 percent capital.
Read More »Ratings Company Says Conservatorship Will Continue With No ‘Clear Exit Path’
Fitch Ratings affirmed that while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintained a "Stable Rating Outlook" in April due to direct financial support from the U.S. government, the ratings company said it expected the controversial FHFA's conservatorship of the two Enterprises would continue indefinitely.
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