The Senate Committee on Banking will hold a hearing on June 29 to discuss principles of housing finance reform. Committee members will hear testimony from three witnesses:
- David H. Stevens, Mortgage Bankers Association
- Edward J. DeMarco, Housing Policy Council of the Financial Services Roundtable; and
- Michael D. Calhoun, Center for Responsible Lending.
The government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were established by Congress to provide residential mortgage liquidity through a secondary market. They also provide annual funding to the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) through a small assessment on the GSEs’ annual book of business. The housing collapse in 2008 and the resulting financial problems at both enterprises led to calls to replace the GSEs with a new housing finance and securitization system. Bi-partisan legislative proposals for housing finance reform in 2014 called for increased contributions to the HTF.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play important roles in both the single-family and the affordable multifamily markets. These functions, as well as increased contributions to the HTF, need to be part of any future housing finance system.
The hearing will be held at 10 am ET, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 538.
Learn more about the future of housing finance at: http://bit.ly/2syHxjr.
Learn more about the national Housing Trust Fund at: http://nlihc.org/issues/nhtf.
Learn more about the hearing at: http://bit.ly/2t2GBW6.