Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[Always wondering]

Tx D1, Let's see if he has changed his views at all. He has made what looks like both positive and negative statements in the past. Gave a shout out to CW/JC but this was last summer so hopefully his hopes of legislation are gone by now.

"September marked the sixth anniversary of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entering conservatorship. As I have said before, an enduring conservatorship is unsustainable and undesirable for everyone. It serves neither creditworthy consumers, many of whom are ready to own a home but cannot obtain a loan, nor taxpayers, who remain on the hook in the event of future housing downturns. We owe the American people better.



The critical flaws in the legacy system that allowed private shareholders to reap unlimited profits while leaving taxpayers shouldering enormous losses cannot be fixed by a regulator or conservator. They require congressional action. This last point cannot be overstated, so let me repeat: The only way to responsibly end the conservatorship is through legislation that puts in place a sustainable housing finance system that protects taxpayers and brings stability and certainty back to the mortgage market.



Over the past two years, we have worked very hard to find a bipartisan path to comprehensive housing finance reform consistent with the President’s principles, and while we have not yet reached the finish line, we have made substantial progress that should not be forgotten. Among other points of broad consensus, these include:



· Winding down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

· Preserving the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a liquid TBA market;

· A central role for private capital in taking first-loss mortgage credit risk;

· The extension of an explicit and actuarially-priced government catastrophic guarantee on qualified mortgage-backed securities;

· The enhancement of secondary market liquidity through a single securitization platform and security;

· The separation of the system’s securitization infrastructure from private credit risk-taking firms;

· The establishment of a countercyclical role for government, and;

· A mechanism to ensure broad and affordable access to the system.



This bipartisan agreement was embodied in the thoughtful legislation from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo, along with Senators Warner, Corker, and other Committee members, that was voted out of Committee. This is real progress; and it demonstrates that the Johnson-Crapo majority did not forge its consensus by merely picking off low-hanging fruit. Resolving many of the issues required principled compromise and the maintenance of good will and open lines of communication among members on both sides of the aisle. But there is obviously more work to be done in the next Congress"
http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl9713.aspx