Opinions Are Free, But GSE Reform Will Likely Be Expensive

(RECAP: Now that the MBA has announced its proposed fix for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, industry experts are offering various opinions concerning the future of the GSEs. Although the full version of the MBA’s “GSE Reform Principles and Guardrails,” prepared by the MBA’s Task Force for a Future Secondary Mortgage Market, will not be available until April, the association recently offered some highlights of what the future end state should be built upon. Among the principles are the following: preserving the 30-year, fixed-rate, single-family mortgage; maintaining a deep, liquid to-be-announced market for conventional single-family loans; an explicit government guarantee of eligible MBS-backed mortgages; addressing the availability of affordable housing; and equitable, transparent and direct access to secondary market programs for lenders of all sizes and business models.)