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Michael Stegman, a top housing policy adviser, urged regulators on Thursday to bring more private capital into the market, even in the absence of legislative momentum.
March 5 -
Housing finance reform in Congress is stalled, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (often under pressure from their regulator) are forming partnerships, developing new products and finding ways to share risk with the private sector to correct flaws in the housing system.
October 20
WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac will begin issuing single-family mortgage-backed securities sometime next year via the new common securitization platform, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday.
The agency's 2016 scorecard calls for the implementation of the "CSP for Freddie Mac's existing single-class securities" in 2016.
But it appears Fannie Mae will continue to use its existing MBS platform until 2018, when both government sponsored enterprises will adopt the single-security structure.
The securitization platform is still a work in process. FHFA refers to it as a "large-scale, multi-year project."
Last July, Fannie and Freddie convened an advisory group to provide feedback and share information about the development of the single security and the common securitization platform.
Freddie MBS, formally known as Participation Certificates, trade at a discount to Fannie Mae MBS. The CSP and single security are supposed to improve liquidity and pricing for Freddie and Fannie MBS.
During 2016, FHFA also wants to complete work on a new representation and warranty framework and a dispute resolution process where lenders can contest GSE requests for repurchases of defaulted or poorly underwritten loans.
The 2016 scorecard also calls on Fannie and Freddie to expand their risk transfer programs next year. Single-family credit risk transfers have become a "core business practice," FHFA says in the Scorecard.
The agency wants 90% of newly acquired single-family loans with fixed-rate terms greater than 20 years and loan-to-value ratios above 60% to be auctioned to investors who will share in losses due to defaults.
"FHFA will adjust targets as necessary to reflect market conditions and economic conditions," the agency said.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., applauded FHFA's 2016 objectives.
"Ramping up risk sharing with the private sector reduces the burden on taxpayers and opening up the common securitization platform will bring more private sector capital into the system," Royce said in statement.
