Freddie Mac

The launch of a combined securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is meant to ease the transition to a new housing finance system. But questions remain about how the mortgage sphere will adapt to the single security.

FHFA Director Mark Calabria should ensure the government-sponsored enterprises hold at least 4% of total assets as part of housing finance reform.

At a time when costs continue to soar and regulators weigh reforms for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, more than half of the Democratic presidential candidates have talked about housing on the campaign trail.

Regulators want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to build up massive amounts of capital before being freed from government control. Don Layton, Freddie's departing chief executive officer says that's easier said than done.

Mark Calabria said he wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take preliminary steps by Jan. 1 toward exiting conservatorship.

His administration is looking at different alternatives to reform the housing finance system.

In his first public policy speech as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria stressed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have to raise significant capital via a public offering and take other steps in order to escape government control.

Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have revived legislation that would prohibit Congress from using certain fees collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated government spending.

Purchase of United Capital Financial would extend the bank’s reach; the bank is raking in online deposits even as it pares back its branch network.

A GSE exemption in the bureau’s “qualified mortgage” rule is set to sunset in 2021, and regulators should not try to extend it as some experts have suggested.