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‘Will Help Ensure a Stable U.S. Housing Market’

Michael Bright, EVP, and COO at Ginnie Mae laid out his vision for the agency during his testimony at the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing to consider his nomination as the President of Ginnie.

Bright, who was nominated for this position by the Trump administration in late May said that Ginnie Mae’s bond and its brand were globally recognized as the most pristine mortgage security in the world. “This is because of Ginnie Mae’s track record of success and our robust
process for ensuring the timely payment of principal and interest to security holders,” he said. “Ginnie Mae has never missed a payment in its 50 years of existence, even during the financial crisis.”

Bright’s nomination was being heard by the committee along with three others. Elad L. Roisman, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Rae Oliver Davis to be Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and Dr. Dino Falaschetti, to be Director, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“Over the last decade, Mr. Bright has established himself as a leading voice on housing finance policy,” said Sen. Mike Crapo, Chairman of the Banking Committee. “Most recently, over the past year and a half, he has overseen all aspects of Ginnie Mae, including its nearly $2 trillion portfolios of mortgage-backed securities, and has already taken significant action to protect taxpayers and help consumers.

If confirmed, Bright said that he intended to continue Ginnie Mae’s ongoing work to strengthen and modernize Ginnie Mae as well as ensuring that the security of the FHA, VA, and USDA loans it oversees to ensure better security price and lower rates for borrowers of these loans.

“Between the work we have done administratively at Ginnie as well as the language recently passed into law, we have taken a major step towards rooting out behavior that was threatening the very viability of the Ginnie security, and thereby threatening the viability of the VA, USDA, and FHA programs we support,” Bright said. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we now know that Congress stands with us. Collectively, our efforts are working. We can already see that in the form of a better security price, which directly translates into lower rates for FHA, VA, and USDA borrowers.”

“If confirmed, I know Mr. Bright will continue this important work, and I look forward to working with him on opportunities to address the last piece of unfinished business from the Financial Crisis: comprehensive housing finance reform,” Crapo said.

The committee also heard the testimony of Rae Oliver Davis, to consider her nomination for the post of Inspector General at HUD. Davis has worked for various Inspectors General with the US Postal Service, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and HUD.

If confirmed, Davis said that she would ensure that HUD conducted comprehensive investigations and delivered thorough reporting. “I am aware that our work is also of significant interest to American taxpayers. Shedding light on government mismanagement and misconduct through our reports can be as effective as prosecutions and financial recoveries,” she told the committee.

“If confirmed as HUD Inspector General, Ms. Davis will draw from this deep experience, working on behalf of taxpayers to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in our housing programs, and to make sure that those programs run as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Crapo said.

Click here to watch the full hearing.

Learn more about recent hearings by the Senate Banking Committee:

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About Author: Radhika Ojha

Radhika Ojha is an independent writer and editor. A former Online Editor and currently a reporter for MReport, she is a graduate of the University of Pune, India, where she received her B.A. in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting and Marketing and an M.A. in Mass Communication. Upon completion of her master’s degree, Ojha worked at a national English daily publication in India (The Indian Express) where she was a staff writer in the cultural and arts features section. Ojha also worked as Principal Correspondent at HT Media Ltd and at Honeywell as an executive in corporate communications. She and her husband currently reside in Houston, Texas.
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