The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its 2015 housing scorecard outlining specific priorities for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their joint venture, Common Securitization Solutions.
The scorecard expands on the FHFA goals outlines in its Strategic Plan for the Conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Here are the goals outlined for Fannie and Freddie:
Maintain, in a safe and sound manner, credit availability and foreclosure prevention activities for new and refinanced mortgages to foster liquid, efficient, competitive and resilient national housing finance markets, which represents 40% of the FHFA's scorecard criteria.
- Work to increase access to mortgage credit for creditworthy borrowers, consistent with the full extent of applicable credit requirements and risk-management practices.
- Effectively implement key loss mitigation activities, which include enabling borrowers to stay in their homes and avoiding foreclosure where possible.
- Maintain the dollar volume of new multifamily business for each Enterprise at $30 billion or below, excluding affordable housing loans, loans to small multifamily properties and loans to manufactured housing rental communities.
Reduce taxpayer risk through increasing the role of private capital in the mortgage market, which represents 30% of the FHFA's scorecard criteria.
Build a new single-family securitization infrastructure for use by the Enterprises and adaptable for use by other participants in the secondary market in the future, which represents the remaining 30% of the FHFA's scorecard criteria.
- Continue working with FHFA, each other, and Common Securitization Solutions, to build and test the Common Securitization Platform and to implement the changes necessary to integrate the Enterprises’ related systems and operations with the CSP.
- Finalize the Single Security structure, including security features, disclosure standards, and related requirements. Develop a plan to implement the Single Security in the market.
- Provide active support for mortgage data standardization initiatives.
In November, the two enterprises established Common Securitization Solutions, a jointly owned limited liability company, with the goal of facilitating the design and eventual implementation of the single GSE bond through the Common Securitization Platform.
Common Securitization Solutions will operate the Common Securitization Platform once it is established, although there has been no acknowledgment of a specific timeline for the development of either the single GSE bond or the Common Securitization Platform to this point.
When the FHFA released its proposal for the “Single Security” in August, the agency said that it would take “multiple years” to build the single security.
While the process may take multiple years, the GSE’s have continued to further the vision for the future laid out by FHFA Director Mel Watt in his first public speech as FHFA director.
Under the 2015 guidelines, the government-sponsored enterprises should continue to build and test the Common Securitization Platform.
In addition, they need to incorporate the following design principles:
- Focus on the functions necessary for current Enterprise single-family securitization activities.
- Include the development of the operational and system capabilities necessary to issue a Single Security for the Enterprises.
- Allow for the integration of additional market participants in a future system.
“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made significant progress toward achieving the goals in FHFA’s Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships last year and we look forward to building on that progress in 2015,” Watt said.
“These objectives will allow FHFA to work with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Common Securitization Solutions to build a strong, vibrant national housing finance market, which will create new homeownership and rental opportunities for existing and potential borrowers.”
