WASHINGTON—Calling housing finance reform “the last piece of unfinished business from the financial crisis," NAFCU’s Dan Berger stressed the importance of maintaining credit unions' access to the secondary mortgage market in a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Joseph Otting.
NAFCU is scheduled to meet with Otting in a few weeks.
Berger, NAFCU's president and CEO, highlighted the important relationship credit unions have with the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to access the secondary mortgage market. "Between 2007 and 2017, the portion of credit union first mortgages that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac grew from 41% to 50%," Berger wrote.
"Accordingly, any housing finance reform discussions should place a strong emphasis on evaluating the potential impact on the credit union industry," he added.
Core Principles
Berger outlined the association's core principles for housing finance reform for Otting, noting that the "overarching goal of these principles is to ensure that credit unions are treated fairly with respect to accessing the secondary market." NAFCU said it has also shared the principles with key lawmakers, regulators and administration officials.
Last month, Otting made comments about the administration's and Treasury Department's work on a housing finance reform plan. NAFCU has urged the Trump administration and Congress to work together on a comprehensive solution to housing finance reform.
As CUToday.info reported earlier, Dr. Mark Calabria, has been nominated to lead the FHFA and is currently awaiting confirmation by the full Senate.