Financial Services Committee hears from FHFA Director on agency response to pandemic

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The House Financial Services committee has held a hearing examining the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with regard to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. FHFA Director Mark A. Calabria testified at the hearing about his agency’s regulatory oversight over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and discussed the possibility of releasing Fannie and Freddie from FHFA conservatorship, but not by the end of 2020. Calabria discussed his agency's policy response to the pandemic, especially protections put into place to support of renters and homeowners struggling to pay for housing due to the pandemic. Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif) noted that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was also supposed to appear at the hearing but could not attend.