WASHINGTON The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is looking into risks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may pose to the financial services industry.
The supervisor of both government-sponsored enterprises is seeking comments by Dec. 29 on several issues, including the impact that liquidity problems or the failure of either company would have on other financial firms health and how severely mortgage market liquidity would be affected if Fannie or Freddie failed or significantly cut back their activities.
It also wants to gauge whether there is any doubt that the federal government would bail out Fannie or Freddie if either collapsed and whether the industry thinks the GSEs are sufficiently regulated.
The request for comment is to be published today and follows pledges by Fannie and Freddie to enhance their disclosure and capital risk management practices. They made those commitments Oct. 19 in an agreement with Rep. Richard H. Baker, R-La., who led the fight this year for legislation that would have stiffened federal oversight of the companies. The agency said it expects to come up with a report six to 12 months after the comment deadline.
