WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department has been publishing a series of blog posts addressing needed reforms for the housing finance system, a likely focus when the 115th Congress convenes in January.
The first post, published in October, focused on the need for affordable housing for all Americans. Last week’s post addressed the importance of preserving access to mortgage credit despite economic conditions. A future post is expected to outline the importance of creating a level playing field for financial institutions of all sizes and promoting robust regulatory oversight to protect the broader housing system, according to NAFCU.
The trade group said it is continuing to push for effective housing finance reform that preserves a government guarantee, maintains unfettered access to the secondary market and ensures fair pricing for credit unions based on loan quality, not volume. It’s also monitoring progress on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposal on membership requirements for the Federal Home Loan Banks and is working with the FHFA to ensure the agency’s activities do not hinder credit unions’ ability to sell mortgages on the secondary market.
Earlier this month, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger shared with leaders of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees a series of principles important to credit unions regarding housing finance reform, including guaranteed access to the secondary mortgage market.