MBA Statement on FHFA’s Perspective on Housing Finance Reform

Last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a paper, Federal Housing Finance Agency Perspectives on Housing Finance Reform, outlining its views on secondary mortgage market reform.

The paper (unavailable as a link) proposes turning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under conservatorship since 2008, into private shareholder-owned utilities, allowing other chartered companies to compete against them in a regulated system.

The Mortgage Bankers Association issued a statement on the FHFA paper. MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, called it an “important paper which reinforces the need for comprehensive legislative housing finance reform.”

“There are many similarities between this proposal and MBA’s own plan including the need for a government guarantee behind mortgage-backed securities to support single-family and multifamily finance, two or more competing guarantors, the use of a single security in the single family market and a level playing field for lenders of all sizes and business models,” Stevens said. “We look forward to continuing to work with Congressional leaders, the Administration, Director Watt and other stakeholders to create a secondary mortgage market that provides a more stable system and broad, sustainable access to credit for all qualified borrowers.”

Last year, MBA released its own comprehensive proposal for secondary mortgage market reform. The paper, Creating a Sustainable, More Vibrant Housing Market, can be found at https://www.mba.org/issues/gse-reform.