Timothy J. Mayopoulos, the chief executive of Fannie Mae, yesterday provided some crucial details on what the government’s program to expand the availability of mortgages with low down payments would look like, the New York Times reported today. Mayopoulos said that he expected Fannie’s low-down-payment mortgages to cost the borrower less than similar loans available under certain other government programs. But he also said that Fannie’s loans would require private mortgage insurance on top of the down payment, a stipulation that might, in theory, limit the size of the program. Even as the government is moving ahead with the changes, some housing analysts are expressing concerns, contending that the program could lead to higher defaults. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, another large government-backed entity that guarantees mortgages, are regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under its director, Melvin L. Watt, the agency has recently taken steps that aim to ease the flow of housing credit. Since the financial crisis of 2008, some 80 percent of mortgages have had some form of taxpayer guarantee.
