Housing Regulator Closes Loan Loophole Used by REITs

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2016–Light, Joe

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said so-called captive insurance companies, which insure the risks of the companies that own them, no longer will be eligible for membership in government-backed federal home loan banks. Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens said the rule “removes a vital component of the FHLBank membership which provides liquidity for the real estate finance market.”

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