White Paper on Act Reforming Regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Is Available

Acting on a broad consensus that government sponsored enterprises need a strong well-funded and independent federal regulator, Congress has overhauled the regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HR 3221) creates an independent and unified regulator of the GSEs with broad powers analogous to federal banking regulators, and with a free hand to set appropriate capital standards, and a clear and credible process sanctioned by Congress for placing a GSE in receivership. The Act also holds the GSEs to SEC reporting requirements comparable to other large, complex public companies. My white paper on the reform provisions is now available.