Industry stakeholders recently got an update on when they can expect to learn more about the plans from President Donald Trump’s administration to reform the housing finance system. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria said the agency plans to publish a report on the matter in late August or September.
In addition to disclosing the approximate target release timeframe for a report spelling out details of the administration’s plans for the secondary market, Calabria also told Reuters he hopes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be out of conservatorship by the time his term expires in 2024, but that it wasn’t guaranteed to happen.
“That’s my time horizon,” Calabria told the news outlet. “I’m under no expectation to try to get all this done. ... So if in four years, nine months they’re not out of conservatorship, I’m not pushing them out.”
Reuters noted that “Calabria’s comments will temper market expectations for a speedy overhaul of Fannie and Freddie before the 2020 presidential election.”
Prior to Calabria’s Senate confirmation, Trump outlined his administration’s vision for housing reform in a memo to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson in March, directing them to develop and submit plans for overhauling the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) and other housing finance agencies.
“I look forward to working with FHFA, HUD, Congress, and other stakeholders to address the need for housing finance reform as laid out by President Trump’s presidential memorandum,” Mnuchin said at the time. “We support a system that provides for access to lending for hardworking Americans, while also protecting taxpayers from risk. An effective and efficient federal housing finance system will also meaningfully contribute to economic growth.”
Many financial trade advocacy groups have gotten behind the majority of Calabria’s suggested approaches to reshaping the secondary mortgage market, but he’s faced criticism for his past comments on FHFA, affordable housing goals and conservatorship.
However, his request that FHFA be granted chartering authority during his first report to Congress, since taking office in April, met with pushback from community bankers.