The Week Ahead: FHFA Takes Center Stage at House Committee Meeting

Set for Wednesday, July 20 at 9:00 a.m. Central, the House Financial Services Committee will be hosting a hearing titled “Housing in America: Oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.”

Taking the stand as a witness before the Committee will be the Honorable Sandra L. Thompson, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

FHFA Director Thompson will be discussing several of the Agency’s actions taken in response to the pandemic, including:

• Implementing protections from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act
• The FHFA’s new proposed rule to provide more appropriately tailored capital requirements, and to remove distorted incentives to buy and hold high levels of risky assets
• The housing affordability gap and the promotion of affordable and equitable access to homeownership through affordable housing development
• The disparate impact of Guarantee Fees (g-fees)
• The Duty to Serve (DTS) rule whereby the GSEs are required to serve three specific underserved markets—manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural housing—by increasing the liquidity of mortgage financing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families
• The Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Capital Magnet Fund (CMF), whereby the GSEs are required to contribute 4.2 basis points per dollar in unpaid principal balance (UPB) on total new business to support the HTF and the CMF—programs designed to create, preserve, and rehabilitate affordable housing for the lowest income households in the country, and to promote community development activities
• The GSEs’ Equitable Housing Finance (EHF) plans, three-year plans (2022-24) that establish a flexible framework to address racial inequities in housing and increase access to sustainable homeownership and rental opportunities, with Fannie Mae’s plan focusing on Black renters and homeowners, and Freddie Mac’s plan focusing on Black and Latinx renters and homeowners

Thompson was nominated by President Biden to serve as FHFA Director on December 17, 2021, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn in as FHFA Director on June 22, 2022. On June 23, 2021, the White House appointed Thompson as Acting Director of FHFA. Before being named FHFA Acting Director, Thompson served as Deputy Director of the Division of Housing Mission and Goals (DHMG).

Since March 2013, as the DHMG Deputy Director, Thompson oversaw FHFA’s housing and regulatory policy, capital policy, financial analysis, fair lending and all mission activities for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Prior to joining FHFA, Thompson worked at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), for more than 23 years in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as Director, Division of Risk Management Supervision. During her time at the FDIC, Thompson led the Agency’s examination and enforcement program for risk management and consumer protection at the height of the financial crisis. She also led the FDIC’s outreach initiatives in response to a crisis of consumer confidence in the banking system. Her experience ranges from supervision to consumer protection, risk management and consumer outreach activities.

Click here for more information or to register to view the House Financial Services Committee hearing, “Housing in America: Oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.”

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

• Five Star Institute Webinar Series: Is 2022-23 Really the Golden Age of Mortgage Servicing? (Monday)
• Senate Banking Committee Hearing: Opportunities and Challenges in Addressing Homelessness (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• NAR June Existing-Home Sales Report (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
• U.S. Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)