Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[jarenawer]

Hensarling Bill to Wind-down GSEs Gets Wind-down of Its Own

POSTEDBY THOMAS GODDARD

According to multiple sources, including Inside Mortgage Finance, Hensarling's bill, which called for the wind-down of the GSEs, is no longer on the agenda for the foreseeable future. This is great news for taxpaying shareholders and brings us one step closer to a practical, sustainable, and safe solution. This also means that the nation is one step closer to protecting American taxpayers, as well as the National Housing Trust Fund, since the key stakeholders involved in GSE reform are now being heard. Hensarlings bill would also have other, negative, sweeping impacts on American families, businesses, and homeowners, such as eliminating the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, increasing interest rates, and providing full control to big banks, which might later lobby for the ability to lend customer's deposits to other customers with much higher interest rates. In addition, the bill would increase risk to taxpayers by placing the primary responsibility of lending, securitizing, and backstopping mortgages in the hands of the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) banks.

Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, has hinted at prospects for a bill that would maintain Fannie and Freddie's role in America's future housing finance system in an interview with Nevada Public Radio last month. As Corker/Warner loses traction in the Senate, and new bills present more pragmatic solutions to a safe, stable, housing finance system, we should begin to see a slow but healthy entrance of private capital to work alongside Fannie and Freddie -- as many, such as Bank of America, have stated is the most desirable structure. As Fannie and Freddie quickly approach zero debt owed to taxpayers -- it does appear likely that a transition from conservatorship back to a pre-crisis, pre-subprime, #GSEReform is approaching. This is what Barack Obama alluded to in his talk with Zillow's CEO last month, which appears to align nicely with all of the key stakeholders. Stay tuned for some statistics as we approach net-zero (zero debt owed by Fannie and Freddie to the US Treasury).