Senate Banking Hearing on Housing Reform: Government Guarantee for Mortgage-Backed Securities (with Delta Strategy Group Summary)

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing entitled, "Housing Finance Reform: Essential Elements of a Government Guarantee for Mortgage-Backed Securities."This hearing, as well as previous hearings, focused on the future of housing reform, particularly Senate Bill 1217 ("S. 1217"), entitled, "Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013," which was introduced by Senators Corker (R-TN) and Warner (D-VA). The legislation is intended to strengthen the United States' housing financing system by replacing government-sponsored enterprises ("GSEs") Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that preserves market liquidity and protects taxpayers from future economic downturns. The following witnesses testified:

• Joseph Tracy, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to the President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (written testimony)
• Honorable Philip L. Swagel, Professor of International Economic Policy, University of Maryland's School of Public Policy (written testimony)
• Michael S. Canter, Director of Securitized Assets, AllianceBernstein, on behalf of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (written testimony)
• Honorable David S. Stevens, President and CEO, Mortgage Bankers Association (written testimony)

Click here for a summary by the Delta Strategy Group.Related news:Senate Banking Hearing on Housing Reform (with Delta Strategy Group Summary) (October 30, 2013).