Affordable housing

With Americans suffering from high housing costs and declining supply, we cannot afford to watch a massive government-sponsored enterprise sit on billions in retained earnings.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants feedback on how the Federal Home Loan banks can improve their affordable housing programs, including efficiencies in the application process.

Analyzed from a property rights perspective, the dividends paid by the Federal Home Loan banks to their members are surprisingly stingy, and vary wildly between the different banks.

Top Federal Home Loan bank officials said they fear the Federal Housing Finance Agency will use supervision to further the goals of last year's report recommending reforms to the Home Loan Bank System.

The Biden administration's proposal to waive title insurance requirements for mortgage lenders would undercut an efficient system that offers homebuyers important protections.

Banks and other private lenders could help ease the liquidity crisis facing some companies that service Ginnie Mae mortgages, but are currently prevented from doing so by the agency's rules. A simple fix would benefit everyone involved.

The Congressional Budget Office report on the Home Loan banks illustrates the ways the nearly 100-year-old system is integral to the U.S. economy, and its benefits for American consumers.

The questions about whether the Home Loan banks receive a public subsidy has been settled. All that remains is for lawmakers to take steps to redirect that subsidy toward public benefits rather than corporate profits.

The FHFA's Home Loan bank report is that rare thing you never see in the nation's capital anymore — a balanced plan on a complex issue that could have lasting impact on a difficult problem.

New federal standards for responsible lending should trigger a surge of new capital into underserved communities, as concerns about reputational risk are allayed.