Both mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported their earnings for the third quarter, showing strong returns.
Fannie Mae returned $3 billion to the U.S. Treasury in the third quarter whereas Freddie Mac returned $2.3 billion.
What does this mean for the future of GSE reform? According to one expert, absolutely nothing.
“Stable operations allow work to continue on GSE modernization while keeping pressure off Congress to study and implement anything that resembles a five-year to 10-year fix to the hybrid status quo,” said Jim Vogel, FTN Financial chartered financial analyst.
In fact, Vogel warns that the status quo won’t change any time soon, even after the presidential election.
“Legislation is unlikely to be priority of a new Administration or a new Congress,” he said. “Much of the old bi-partisan thinking in previous bills, though, may not transfer to the next round because so many of the political issues around housing have moved significantly in the last two years.”
This is evident by both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s lack of focus on the topic in their campaigns. In fact, from a housing standpoint, the debates are defined more by what the candidates didn’t say.
