GSEs

With policymakers focused on ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorship, their regulator is reorganizing key units and adding staff to position itself for the long term.

The regulator said the investment bank and financial services company will help in the process of strengthening Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital standing for their eventual exit from conservatorship.

Lower rates spurred a lot of unexpected mortgage business in 2019 but credit unions need to prepare themselves for what happens once the boom ends.

Potential sources of industry upheaval, and how to adapt; former Wells Fargo execs may face criminal charges in coming weeks; why banks have such high turnover of chief compliance officers; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discussed the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate under a consent order to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to be able to raise capital.

The FHFA’s attempt to move some of its balance sheet into the private sector could leave investors with greater liabilities than they were initially told.

A risk-based capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is expected to top the agenda in 2020 as the companies’ regulator executes plans for their release into the private sector.

A dozen of the nation's largest underwriters were accused of colluding with traders to artificially set prices on the secondary market for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities.

The lawmakers say they need more information about the administration’s plans in order to conduct proper oversight.

As required by last year's reg relief law, the agency is planning to raise the asset threshold for organizations conducting a stress test from $10 billion to $250 billion.

Loan limits for most mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy will exceed $500,000 for the first time ever next year, and the maximum for most high-cost areas will be $765,000.

The $26 billion all-stock deal has the OK of the boards from both companies; the administration says it will move on privatization without federal backing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is scrapping a capital proposal it released last year and will seek comments on a new plan in 2020.

And the government-sponsored enterprises could hold initial public offerings in 2021 or 2022 to ensure they hold adequate capital, FHFA Director Mark Calabria said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

The Supreme Court is ready to weigh in on the CFPB’s leadership structure, but both agencies are facing similar constitutional challenges, suggesting a broader impact of any decision.

A lower court “erred” when it sided with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s investors, the Justice Department said in its petition to the high court.

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discussed steps the companies have already taken to limit their risk, as well as efforts to prevent housing market “overlap” with the FHA.

Facebook CEO says the company won’t purse Libra anywhere if U.S. regulators disapprove; the agency says “guidance” was actually “rules.”

At a House hearing covering a whole host of housing finance reform topics, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator said "if the circumstances" call for eliminating investors, "we will."