The End of an Era for the GSEs

A bill submitted in the House of Representatives details the timeline to take the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) out of conservatorship and eventually completely remove the government’s guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If passed in current form, as sponsored by Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, two years after the bill becomes a law, the GSEs would either be forced to either operate as standalone companies, or go into receivership for eventual wind down. If passed, the “GSE Bailout Elimination and Taxpayer Protection Act” — HR 4889 — directs the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to remove the GSEs from conservatorship two years after the bill is signed into law. Three years after that, the bill would revoke the charters for both entities and establish a 10-year-long wind down of the entities ability to purchase mortgages for securitization. During that 10-year period, the FHFA director and the Treasury secretary would be responsible for imposing regulations that would divest the GSEs of their holdings. … It’s not that Hensarling wants to see the GSEs abolished, George Rasley — a spokesperson for the Congressman — told HousingWire, but rather, he believes the companies should either operate in the free market and if they can’t, then they should be wound down. “It remains to be seen how their existing obligations would be greeted by the market, since the government has in essence said ‘we’re guaranteeing those,'” Rasley said. “The government is always a poor player in the market. The word free comes before market for a reason, that’s because it doesn’t involved the government.” TO READ THE FULL STORY, SUBSCRIBE NOW.