Washington, DC – Today, several national groups sent a letter to President Obama urging the Administration to rethink its position on the recapitalization of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and calling for their continued reform. The letter is in response to comments last week from Jacob Lew, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and Antonio Weiss, Counselor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, that seemingly suggested that the Obama Administration would not consider recapitalization of the GSEs.
“The most sensible path forward for the housing finance system is to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie, take them out of conservatorship, and to build on the reforms of strong supervision and oversight of the Enterprises started in 2008 with the passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act,” said National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) President and CEO John Taylor. “We agree with the Administration that there are a number of reforms still needed in the secondary mortgage market, but the answer does not lie in scrapping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They can and should be recapitalized; they can and should be fixed,” said Taylor. “Fannie and Freddie, through their charters, their affordable housing goals and the products they offer, have played a critical role in creating homeownership opportunities and building the middle class in America. We simply cannot stand by and face losing their affirmative obligations to serve, especially when Congress does not have a viable, coherent plan that would better serve working families.”
“We anticipate several others in the housing advocacy and lender community will also be expressing similar thoughts about recapitalization and the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the coming days.”
NCRC’s previous statements, letters and papers on housing finance reform can be found here.
