Housing Finance System Reform

The Obama Administration submitted its Report to Congress on February, 11, 2011, titled "Reforming America's Housing Finance Market." The Report contemplates a more limited role for the government in the housing finance market. The Administration's Report will be debated in congress over the next several months. The nature and scope of the proposals that are actually adopted will determine whether substantial amounts of additional private capital will be needed to fund residential mortgage loans on the balance sheets of banks and other originators, to support a government guarantee on RMBS and/or to credit enhance and invest in private label securities.

In order to assist clients in evaluating the Administration's Report as well as other proposals that get made, and in planning to participate in the residential mortgage markets as they evolve, including as originators, securitizers, servicers, trustees, and investors, we intend to include in this section the proposals that are made by the Obama Administration, the Republicans and other interested parties, as well as any alerts that we publish and relevant commentaries by others that come to our attention. See also the Administration's website referenced on this page.

Alerts and Materials

The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
January 4, 2012

A Canary in the Mortgage Market: Why the Recent FHA and GSE Loan Limit Reductions Deserve Attention, Josiah Madar and Mark A. Willis, New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy (White Paper, Fact Sheet)
October 13, 2011

Hearing – Public Proposals for the Future of the Housing Finance System, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Includes: Archived Webcast, Witness List, and electronic copies of Testimonies
March 29, 2011

Taking the Government Out of Housing Finance: Principles for Reforming the Housing Finance Market, Edward Pinto, Alex J. Pollock, Peter J. Wallison, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
March 24, 2011

Written Testimony by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury
March 15, 2011

Testimony by Secretary Timothy F. Geithner before the House Committee on Financial Services, U.S. Department of the Treasury
March 1, 2011

U.S. Housing Reform Proposal FAQs: Filling the Void, Robert Grossman, Joo-Yung Lee, Fitch Ratings
*Registration is required to view Fitch releases and reports.
February 24, 2011

Reforming America's Housing Finance Market: A Report to Congress, The Department of the Treasury and The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
February 2011

A Responsible Market for Housing Finance: A Progressive Plan to Reform the U.S. Secondary Market for Residential Mortgages, Mortgage Finance Working Group (Sponsored by the Center for American Progress)
January 2011

Taking the Government Out of Housing Finance: Principles for Reforming the Housing Finance Market, Peter J. Wallison, Alex J. Pollock, Edward J. Pinto, American Enterprise Institute Policy
January 2011

A Private Lender Cooperative Model for Residential Mortgage Finance, Toni Dechario, Patricia Mosser, Joseph Tracy, James Vickery, and Joshua Wright, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 466
August 2010

Improving U.S. Housing Finance through Reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Assessing the Options, Ingrid Gould Ellen, John Napier Tye, Mark A. Willis, NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
May 2010

Department of The Treasury: Public Input on Reform of the Housing Finance System
[eDocket Number: TREAS–DO–2010–0001]
July 21, 2010

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Public Input on Reform of the Housing Finance System
[eDocket Number: HUD–2010–0029]
July 21, 2010