Administration Expected to Name Calabria as FHFA Director
The Trump Administration this week signaled it intended to nominate Mark Calabria, a longtime Washington policy operative who currently serves as Vice President Mike Pence’s chief economist, as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Calabria would succeed current FHFA Director Melvin Watt, whose five-year term expires this January.
Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, issued a statement of support.
“MBA congratulates Mark Calabria on the announcement that President Trump intends to nominate him to be the next Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency,” Broeksmit said. “He has a deep background in housing finance issues and we have enjoyed a good working relationship with him in his current and past roles. We look forward to working with him on a wide variety of housing finance issues, not the least of which is resolving the now-decade long conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that best serves borrowers, protects taxpayers and ensures equal access to stable and liquid secondary mortgage markets for a wide variety of single- and multifamily lenders, regardless of size or business model.”
Before joining Pence’s office in 2017, Calabria served as Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank. He also served on the senior staff of the Senate Banking Committee, where he handled issues related to housing, mortgage finance, economics, banking and insurance for Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Calabria previously served as staff on the Banking Committee under Chairman Phil Gramm, R-Texas.
Calabria’s career also includes stints as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs at HUD and executive positions with Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors. He began his career as a Research Associate with the Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies.
