New FHFA Joint Business Entity Moving Forward

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that the joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will build and operate a new common securitization platform has reached some important milestones.

 

A Certificate of Formation has been filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, establishing Common Securitization Solutions LLC (CSS) as a limited liability company. This establishes CSS as a legally recognized entity and marks an important step in creating the joint venture, which is an equally-owned subsidiary of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

“The filing of the Certificate of Formation represents a significant milestone toward accomplishing the goal of building a new secondary mortgage market infrastructure,” said FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco. “We are pleased with the progress being made and look forward to further developments.”

 

FHFA also announced today that after a rigorous process to identify a site, a lease for commercial office space for CSS has been signed by authorized officials from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The office space is located in Bethesda, Maryland and the lease is for a three-year term.

 

In addition, an executive recruitment firm has been retained to identify candidates for the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Managers of CSS. Identification and interviewing of candidates is currently underway.

 

In a March speech, Acting Director DeMarco announced that the formation of a new joint business entity, to be located separately from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and headed by a CEO and Chairman of the Board of Managers, were goals FHFA expected to achieve in 2013. Today’s announcement shows clear progress toward meeting those goals.

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