by MHI
On May 15th, the Senate Banking Committee approved legislation (currently unnumbered) on a 13-9 vote that would eliminate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and overhaul the nation's secondary housing finance market.
The bill, authored by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-ID), now moves to the full Senate. A floor vote this year appears unlikely after several key Democrats on the panel voted against the plan out of concern that it goes too far in eliminating the current system and does not do enough to preserve affordable housing finance options.
The bill expands on legislation introduced last year by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Mark Warner (D-VA) and replaces Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a system where the government would explicitly guarantee big losses in the housing market but that relies on the private sector to play a larger role than it currently does in funding new mortgages.
Included in the Johnson-Crapo bill are provisions explicitly requested by MHI that would allow manufactured home loans, including those secured by personal property, full access to the newly envisioned secondary market system.
Included in the legislation is a provision requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to review the impact HOEPA High-Cost Mortgage and Loan Originator provisions are having on credit availability in the manufactured housing market. The language also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete a study on how these provisions impact credit available to those seeking to purchase manufactured housing. The provisions, which were requested by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), were adopted during mark up.
Despite strong objections from majority members of the committee over any efforts to include Dodd-Frank-related amendments, the Manchin provisions represented a compromise approach and will serve to ensure that the CFPB remains focused on the need to provide the manufactured housing market with relief from recent rulemakings.
For more information on the mark up, click here.
