The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking comments on a proposed capital-requirements regulation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CRA Newswire reports. The rule would implement a new framework for risk-based capital requirements and revise the minimum leverage capital requirement for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
The new capital requirements would be suspended while Fannie and Freddie remain in conservatorship, as previous such requirements have been since the GSEs were placed in conservatorship in 2008, CRA notes, but the FHFA nonetheless wants to "communicate [its] views … about capital adequacy and allow market participants and all stakeholders to comment on the proposed capital requirements."
"We think it is important for FHFA, as the prudential regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to articulate our views on capital requirements and to start a healthy discussion about the amount of capital the Enterprises should have to appropriately shield taxpayers from assistance,” said FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt. “In addition, feedback on this proposed rule will inform FHFA’s views as conservator in making possible refinements to our assumptions about capital as we evaluate the Enterprises’ business decisions during conservatorship.”
