🚨 Fannie & Freddie’s Great Escape: What IMBs Want in a Post-Conservatorship Reality 🚀

Hey mortgage fam — big waves are crashing on the shores of housing finance, and it’s not just market volatility. We’re talking about the epic re-entry of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the wild world of capitalism. Yep, after nearly two decades in federal conservatorship (remember that 2008 glow-down?), the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) may soon be flying solo again. And guess who’s got thoughts? Oh, just 46 of the nation’s fiercest independent mortgage banks (IMBs). 🎯

In a bold move, these non-bank lenders penned a 🔥 joint letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FHFA Director Bill Pulte, chiming in with five mic-drop priorities for what needs to go down to keep the mortgage game competitive post-conservatorship. This wasn’t your average policy whisper either — it dropped like an AI-optimized missile one day before the 18th anniversary of the GSEs entering conservatorship, a reminder that history has receipts. 🗃️

Let’s break down the five essentials, Anita-style, because this letter isn’t just about mortgage policy — it’s about the future of access, innovation, and small lender survival. 🛠️🏘️

1. 💵 G-Fee Parity + The Cash Window: Protect the Underdogs

One word: fairness. Okay fine, two words: G-fee parity. This means every lender, big or small, pays the same guarantee fees to the GSEs — no VIP passes for behemoths. The robust “cash window” also ensures smaller players aren’t pushed out by the big dogs. The IMBs want this framework locked in before Fannie and Freddie break free and suddenly get seduced by quarterlies and shareholder pressure.📈

The Trump Administration baked this into the PSPAs under a 2021 update, but if you know anything about post-conservatorship dynamics, regulation light is not guaranteed. So yeah…the IMBs want these guardrails built from titanium. 🔩

2. 🚫 No Wall Street Takeover Tactics

Repeat after me: “Wall Street banks should not get GSE charters.” 🙅‍♀️

Why? Because letting massive megabanks slap a GSE sticker on their exclusive platforms creates a two-tier mortgage world — one for whales, and another for everyone else. This battle already played out in 2014 (spoiler: indie lenders, Realtors, and consumers won), and IMBs aren’t about to let it resurface without a fight. 🥊

Community access > corporate consolidation. Don’t @ us.

3. 🧪 Keep Fannie & Freddie Separate – Two Is Better Than One

Sure, combining Fannie and Freddie may sound efficient, but here’s the tea: it could breed monopoly vibes faster than you can say “mortgage-backed security.”

For nearly 20 years, these two have been fierce-but-friendly competitors — kind of like Solana and Ethereum. 🔀 Their rivalry fuels innovation, keeps G-fees competitive, and protects affordability. Consolidation? Nah. IMBs are calling that a Wall Street fever dream with Main Street consequences. 🧊

4. 🏗️ Don’t Ditch the Niche Products

This one’s a critical reminder: GSEs don’t just serve suburbia. 🏘️ They touch everything from manufactured homes and condos to second homes and investor units that support affordable rentals.

Post-conservatorship Fannie & Freddie = profit-driven Fannie & Freddie. The risk? These vital niche loans get ghosted because they aren’t juicy enough for a boardroom pitch. IMBs say “keep these loans alive” and remember your Duty to Serve, fam.

5. 📉 Activate MBS Power to Lower Rates

Mortgage rates right now? Smokin’ hot 🔥 — and not in a good way. The spread between mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and 10-year Treasuries is off the charts, translating to pain for your average homebuyer. 🧾

Solution? IMBs suggest it’s time to flex GSE liquidity. If Fannie and Freddie start scooping up undervalued MBS, it sends a strong signal to the market — “Hey, it’s safe to jump back in the pool!” That kind of buy-in could pull rates back down to Earth. 🌍💸

🚪Exiting Conservatorship: More Than a Policy Move

This isn’t just a regulatory handshake or private equity play. It’s a moment that could reshape how Americans access homeownership. 🏡📊 IMBs — aka the real ones out here doing the heavy origination lifting — are pushing for a framework that keeps the mortgage market fair, accessible, and forward-thinking.

Without these reform commitments, we risk sliding back into the dark days of Countrywide-style chaos — fast deals, high risks, and massive market distortion. We’ve been there. We’ve got the bankruptcy filings to prove it. 😬

🎯 Final Take: Real Talk from the Real Ones

As someone living and breathing real estate tech, AI infra, and financial innovation — let me keep it 💯 with you: we can’t afford to turn the GSE transition into a Wall Street party with no guest list. Independent lenders, community banks, and everyday borrowers need a seat at the table — especially in a world driven by AI agents, decentralized networks, and democratized access to capital.

So if policymakers are listening — and we know you are — the mortgage industry’s brain trust just dropped their wishlist. Now it’s time to build policy that respects the past, embraces the future, and secures a system that works for all borrowers.

Because innovation never sleeps, and neither does the American dream. 🏡✨

– Anita