Washington, DC – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition applauded a letter from 32 Members of Congress to FHFA Director Mel Watt, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, urging them to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are adequately capitalized. NCRC members first introduced and urged Members of Congress to sign on to this letter at the 2016 NCRC Annual Conference Hill Day.
NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:
“We applaud Congressman Mike Capuano for his leadership and the Representatives from across the country for bringing attention to this critical issue, and we applaud the many NCRC members and others who have worked hard to get this issue on the radar of their Members of Congress. We believe this letter provides Director Mel Watt with Congressional support to take action on what he has identified as ‘the most serious risk‘ facing the Enterprises — their lack of capital.”
“For some time, NCRC has been advocating for the recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With their current paper-thin capital buffer, a complete loss of capital at Fannie and Freddie is a real danger. This would be a further detriment to the GSEs’ mission of supporting affordable housing for low- and moderate-income borrowers and securitizing loans for millions of middle class people.”
The letter to Director Watt and Secretary Lew can be read here.
Earlier this week, NCRC and other groups sent a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt calling for the recapitalization of the GSEs.
Also earlier this week, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor authored a piece for the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Reform Incubator series.
In 2015, NCRC released a white paper calling for the recapitalization and continued reforms of the GSEs and an end to their conservatorship.
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About NCRC:
NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development.
