Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

ICAST’s IRA & BIL Instant Benefit Estimate Calculator is now available on NH&RA’s website under the Resources section.

The Supreme Court agreed to review a challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) authority. Plaintiff, Sheila Law LLC, is arguing that a legal provision stipulating that the director can only be removed by the President for cause violates the constitutional separation of powers. The CFPB director, like the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director, serves in a five-year role and cannot be fired at will. The Supreme Court’s decision will have implications for both the CFPB and FHFA.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the 2019 Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a new 2020 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Common Securitization Solutions.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) of Harvard University released a working paper by Don Layton, a senior industry fellow at JCHS titled “What the FHFA Needs to Get Right in Its GSE Capital Rule.”

It’s been a busy week for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). During the American Credit Union Mortgage Association’s Annual Conference, Director Mark Calabria shared his concerns about volume-based pricing discounts on Guarantee Fees (G-Fees). FHFA issued a confidential administrative directive to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac restricting competition on G-Fees

FHFA sent a letter to the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) instructing them that, as of December 31, 2019, they should stop purchasing investments in assets tied to London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) with a contractual maturity beyond December 31, 2021.

FHFA announced modified Preferred Stock Purchase agreements with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that allow the GSEs to retain capitals of up to $25 billion and $20 billion, respectively. The move ends the capital sweep on earnings above $3 billion that was put into place in 2008 when the GSEs entered conservatorship.

Finally, FHFA announced an agreement with Simone Grimes who accused former director Melvin Watt of sexual harassment.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new multifamily loan purchase caps of $100 million each for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020. The new caps apply to all multifamily business with no exclusions. The FHFA also directs at least 37.5 percent of Fannie […]

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are hosting four Duty to Serve (DTS) Listening Sessions in the Fall of 2019. These listening sessions are an opportunity for the public to provide input on the Enterprises’ proposed plans for the second DTS plan cycle, 2021-2023.

Last week the Department of the Treasury and HUD sent their Housing Finance Reform Plans to President Trump following his March Memorandum, which ordered the reports. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing on Housing Finance Reform: Next Steps with HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and FHFA Director Mark Calabria as witnesses.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) of Harvard University released a new paper GSE Reform: None or Mostly Done? Author Don Layton argue that while Congress has yet to pass comprehensive reform of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), almost all of the major flaws of the pre-conservatorship GSEs have been successfully addressed while the companies have been in conservatorship.

This American Banker article explores the remarks from President Trump at the recent National Association of Realtors event. “This is a pretty urgent problem.  We’re doing well with it now… We have many geniuses looking at it and we’ll figure something out.”

At the Mortgage Bankers Association conference, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Dr. Mark Calabria said “ while I’m committed to working with Congress, I’m not going to wait on Congress.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that Clinton Jones, Lynn Fisher and Matt Grinney will join the Agency. Jones has been named Senior Advisor for Legal Affairs and Policy, Fisher will serve as Senior Advisor for Economics and Grinney will be a Senior Communications and Policy Advisor. 

The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, of which NH&RA is a member, sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Dr. Mark Calabria to welcome him to his new role and thank him for his comments during the confirmation process on promoting access to affordable housing, retaining the Government Sponsored Enterprises’ (GSE) […]

On April 4, 2019 the Senate voted 52-44 to confirm Mark Calabria as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).