Freddie Mac

The Senate is set to begin teeing up housing finance reform discussions at a Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, but many are skeptical that Congress will be able to succeed where it has failed in the past.

As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist, they must have adequate capital so taxpayers will never again be compelled to help them meet their financial obligations.

The ICBA backs a plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie through retained earnings and public offerings, but other groups see it as a self-interested proposal to help GSE stockholders.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was pressed for his views on housing finance reform, what a “modernized” version of the Glass-Steagall Act would look like and a two-tiered regulatory system.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be able to rebuild a capital buffer to avoid any potential crisis in the mortgage market, according to a coalition of affordable housing advocates, homebuilders and small mortgage lender groups.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to face tough questions on the OCC, Glass-Steagall and housing finance reform when he testifies on Thursday.

FHFA Director Mel Watt warned Thursday that to prevent a potential draw on the Treasury Department by the government-sponsored enterprises, he is willing to act unilaterally to rebuild capital at Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued proposals Monday to create pilot programs for loans on mobile homes, part of an ambitious plan for underserved and rural housing markets.

If proposed tax cuts were enacted, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be required to make an initial adjustment that could wipe out their capital.

Freddie Mac's serious delinquency rate dropped below 1% for the first time since 2008, lending credence to its efforts to expand credit access.

The Treasury secretary on Monday reiterated an aggressive timetable for tackling the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an issue that has long flummoxed Congress.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling said they believed an agreement on housing finance reform could be struck in this Congress.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a detailed transition plan Thursday designed to help policymakers turn the government-sponsored enterprises into private guarantors of mortgage-backed securities.

Private market mortgage insurance companies should better align their buyback and rescission policies with those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

A bipartisan group of senators told Mel Watt, the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that he shouldn't allow the companies to recapitalize without congressional approval.

Suspending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regular dividend payments to the Treasury, thus enabling the companies to replenish their reserve capital, would put their future on better footing.

Freddie Mac is bolstering its relationships with housing finance agencies after it fell short of reaching two affordable housing goals last year.

Four retail managers are the first senior employees let go by the bank for their roles in the phony accounts scandal; federal court rules against investors in GSE suit.

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that barred hedge funds from suing to overturn the U.S. government’s 2012 decision to capture billions of dollars in the profits generated by the mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after their bailout.

Freddie Mac is ramping up its use of credit risk transfers, completing $215 billion in single-family transfers last year, up to $600 billion since 2013.