GSE reform

As expected, President Trump has nominated Brian Montgomery to serve as the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration.

The gulf between those at the upper ends of the wealth ladder and lower-income Americans has worsened markedly since the financial crisis, despite the trillions of subsidies that taxpayers provide for housing.

Dividend payments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are due to come one day after the U.S. is estimated to hit the debt ceiling, raising the stakes in the debate over whether those payments should continue.

FHFA Director Mel Watt said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot use alternative credit models until other issues are resolved first.

A bipartisan duo of lawmakers is set Tuesday to introduce a bill designed to increase homeownership opportunities for “credit invisible” consumers.

Readers react to the CFPB’s final arbitration rule, a new potential hurdle for initial coin offerings, a housing finance reform proposal and more.

Policymakers should differentiate between housing finance-related issues of real importance to the greater public interest, and those that concern only special interests.

From the small lender’s perspective, most of the various GSE reform proposals that have been offered are designed to advance the interests of the big banks.

The discounts that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used to offer large originators for selling them bulk bundles of mortgages continue to haunt small lenders, who worry a new housing finance system could revive the practice.

Readers this week highlighted the need for banks to upgrade payments systems, debated a small bank’s decision to ditch its legacy core vendor, lamented populist initiatives of the GSEs, and more.