FHFA to Re-Propose Capital Rule for GSEs

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is planning to re-propose the entire regulation on capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during 2020.

 

FHFA Director Mark Calabria noted the 2018 Capital Rule was proposed before the agency started the process of retaining capital at the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as the beginning of the movement to conclude their 11-year-old federal conservatorship. Calabria did not give a specific timeline on when the regulation would be re-proposed.

 

“In fairness to all interested parties, the comments submitted during the previous rulemaking were submitted under a different set of assumptions about the future of the enterprises,” Calabria said. “During the process of the rulemaking, important issues were identified that will be addressed in the re-proposal. The Capital Rule is one of the most important rules I will issue as Director. This rule will be re-proposed and finalized within a timeline fully consistent with ending the conservatorships. Requiring the Enterprises to build capital that can properly support their risk ensures that taxpayers will never be on the hook again during an economic downturn.”

 

Calabria recently released the 16-page “2019 Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” in which he stated: "“Our nation’s mortgage finance system is in urgent need of reform. The vision for reform articulated in the Strategic Plan and advanced in the Scorecard will serve borrowers and renters by preserving mortgage credit availability, protect taxpayers by ensuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can withstand an economic downturn, and support a strong and resilient secondary mortgage market.”

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