The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday asked Congress for the authority to charter new government-sponsored enterprises to compete with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the first step in a move to overhaul the nation's housing finance system, Politico reported. The FHFA is seeking to end the market dominance of Fannie and Freddie, the two companies that were rescued by the government during the housing crisis and now guarantee about half the country's mortgages. The Treasury Department is expected to release a blueprint of its own plan as early as this month. Both FHFA Director Mark Calabria and the Trump administration have repeatedly said that they would like to work with Congress on housing finance reform but will move unilaterally if they have to. Some lawmakers are resisting sweeping changes in mortgage finance. Fannie and Freddie’s “duopoly undercuts competition in the market,” Calabria wrote to lawmakers in a letter presenting the agency’s 120-page annual report to Congress. “Increased competition would reduce market reliance on either enterprise and enhance market stability, as well as benefit home buyers,” he added. “To promote competition, Congress should authorize additional competitors and provide FHFA chartering authority similar to that of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.”
