Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs [1] to update the committee on the steps the FHFA has taken to aid homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"One of our top priorities has been to support renters and homeowners struggling to pay for housing because of COVID-19. To do this, FHFA has directed the Enterprises to put in place certain protections," said Calabria in his testimony. "The Enterprises own or guarantee approximately $5.7 trillion in mortgages. That includes about 43 percent of multifamily units, which represents about 8.6 million households and more than half of single-family mortgages or about 28 million homeowners. FHFA’s policies apply to all single-family homeowners and multifamily property owners with an Enterprise-backed mortgage. In addition, FHFA’s policies also help to set workable standards for the entire market."
Carson, meanwhile, discussed the CARES Act, as well as the Ginnie Mae Pass-Through Assistance Program (PTAP).
"PTAP provides last-resort financing to cover the difference between issuers’available funds and scheduled payment of principal and interest (P&I) to mortgage-backed security (MBS) holders," said Carson. "The timely payment of P&I toMBS holders, consistent with Ginnie Mae’s statutory guaranty, is essential to the liquidity of the MBS market and the confidence of investors who finance housing through the Ginnie Mae program."