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News Release
Biden Rent Control Idea is Bad Housing Policy
President Biden today issued a call to impose federal limits on rent increases nationwide. That idea would have many drawbacks, not just for landlords…
Blog
Freddie Mac second mortgage funding could foment financial crisis
The 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis never fails to be invoked whenever there is any pushback to excessive financial regulation. Progressives regularly bring up…
News Release
Mark Calabria Had Excellent Stewardship of Fannie, Freddie While at Federal Housing Finance Agency
On news today that President Biden is replacing Trump appointee Mark Calabria as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees government-sponsored enterprises…
Search Posts
News Release
Biden Rent Control Idea is Bad Housing Policy
President Biden today issued a call to impose federal limits on rent increases nationwide. That idea would have many drawbacks, not just for landlords…
Blog
Freddie Mac second mortgage funding could foment financial crisis
The 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis never fails to be invoked whenever there is any pushback to excessive financial regulation. Progressives regularly bring up…
News Release
Mark Calabria Had Excellent Stewardship of Fannie, Freddie While at Federal Housing Finance Agency
On news today that President Biden is replacing Trump appointee Mark Calabria as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees government-sponsored enterprises…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging GSE Reform
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Brown, Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member Toomey and Ranking Member McHenry: On behalf of the undersigned organizations,…
Blog
Treasury, FHFA Reverse ‘Net Worth Sweep” at Fannie and Freddie
The headlines yesterday were that the Trump administration had failed to exit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the government-owned conservatorship. This is true…
News Release
CFPB Makes Needed Changes to Qualified Mortgage Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued final rules related to qualified mortgage loans, which require lenders to determine at the onset that consumers…
Blog
Finally, a Fix for Fannie and Freddie
In my recent blog post on the 10th anniversary of Dodd-Frank, I lamented that while “this supposed ‘financial reform’ has caused harmful and sometimes…
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Proposed Regulatory Capital Framework
Dear Mr. Pollard: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I am pleased to submit the following comment letter on the Federal Housing Finance…
News Release
GSE Reform Proposal a Positive Step Towards Reducing Government Role in Housing Finance
The Treasury Department today released a proposal aimed at reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both Government Sponsored Entities or "GSEs." According to the proposal,…
Blog
Don’t Let Credit Scoring Kerfuffle Compromise GSE Reform
Just when it seemed that reforming the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was becoming a “third rail” that politicians did not want…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter in Support of Confirming Mark Calabria to be Head of FHFA
View Full Document as PDF Dear Majority Leader McConnell, We write to express support of Dr. Mark Calabria’s nomination to be Director…
Blog
The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: What’s Changed?
Ten years ago, the United States plunged into a financial crisis that would bring the world economy to the brink of collapse. The housing bubble…
Blog
The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: Fannie and Freddie Fueled the Subprime Mortgage Bubble
If anything symbolizes the American dream, it is homeownership—an asset that is viewed as part of a route from poverty and exclusion to independence and…
Blog
The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: A Legacy of Racist Government Housing Policy
A decade ago this Saturday, the world shook as Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, filed for bankruptcy. Representing one of…
Blog
Appeals Court Rules Federal Housing Finance Agency Unconstitutional
Big news out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals—the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is unconstitutionally structured. The FHFA was created in the wake…
Valuewalk
Time To End The GSE Conservatorship
When other financial institutions that received TARP funds paid back what they owed to the U.S. Treasury in full, the government relinquished its ownership stake…
Study
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Still Endanger U.S. Economy
View Full Document as PDF Nearly a decade since the housing bust of 2008 sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin, much…
Blog
New Research, Same Story: Government Housing Policy Doesn’t Work
The Urban Institute today published an updated report, titled Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America. As part of the project, the authors highlight…
Blog
Mnuchin Must Bring Transparency to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Recently-confirmed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin must do everything he can to reverse the extreme secrecy practiced by the Obama Treasury Department.
Newsmax
We Need Protection From Fannie and Freddie
John Berlau, in his article for Newsmax, discusses the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the bill that will prevent their bail out.
Blog
Freddie Mac’s Loss Shows Need to Protect Taxpayers from GSE Raids
I wish baseball great Yogi Berra were still here—upon the release of Freddie Mac’s new quarterly report showing a sudden Q3 loss—so he could offer…
Blog
CEI’s Coalition Letter to Prevent New Bailouts of Fannie and Freddie
As the Dodd-Frank “financial reform” celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer, just about every financial business—as well as many nonfinancial firms—have come under its thumb.
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter supporting H.R. 1673 to Prevent New Fannie-Freddie Bailouts
View the PDF Here Open Letter to the House and Senate: Protect Taxpayers from Another Fannie/Freddie Bailout – Enact the Enterprise…
The National Review
Fannie and Freddie on Steroids
A corollary to Shakespeare’s adage “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is that “garbage by any other name would smell as…
Free Beacon
Fannie Motors
“It’s becoming Fannie Motors,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute finance scholar John Berlau, referring to the government-backed housing lender Fannie Mae. “They’re still using our tax…
Free Beacon
Letter to the Editor: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Financial Crisis
I found Joe Nocera’s attempt to minimize the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the financial crisis unconvincing (“The Big Lie,” column,…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing $730,000 Conforming Loan Limits: Fannie-Freddie Subsidies for McMansions
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has signed a coalition letter with other individuals and public policy organizations opposing the expansion of government-backed mortgages for wealthy home-buyers.
News Release
Fannie-Freddie Outrages: Bonuses and Subsidies for McMansions
Washington, D.C., November 16, 2011 — As the House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on the granting of nearly $13 million in bonuses for executives…
Free Beacon
What About Fannie Mae Millionaires?
‘They are . . . not interested in asking millionaires and billionaires to pay a half a penny on the dollar for the sake of…
Free Beacon
Dodd-Frank’s Fannie Trap
One year ago today, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Despite the “Wall Street” moniker, the tentacles of Dodd-Frank’s…
Blog
Fannie Mae Played a Bigger Role in the Financial Crisis than Previously Thought
In the Wall Street Journal, Peter Wallison, who prophetically warned against the risky practices of mortgage giant Fannie Mae, describes the key role…
Free Beacon
Fannie & Freddie Don’t Deserve Any More Tax Dollars (Letters to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to oppose more taxpayer bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are expected to receive between $73 billion and $215…
Blog
Another Reason Why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Need to Go
The monthly payments a home mortgage has depend on two variables (among others): the initial down payment and interest rates. A larger down payment means…
Blog
“How ACORN Destroyed the Housing Market”
Federal affordable-housing mandates were a major factor in the mortgage crisis, fueling the housing bubble and the subsequent collapse of the housing and…
News Release
Congress Probes Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
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Blog
Clinton Pressure to Promote Affordable Housing Led to Mortgage Meltdown
The current mortgage crisis came about in large part because of Clinton-era government pressure on lenders to make risky loans in order to “make…
Comment
CEI President Testifies on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Full Document Available in PDF Fred L. Smith, Jr. Testimony Before the House…
Study
Risk-Based Homeowners Insurance Under Siege: The Slippery Slope From Redlining Charges To Disparate Impact Claims
Full Document Available in…