MBS Pioneer Ranieri Says Fannie and Freddie Should Be Utilities
- Companies could help promote affordable housing, racial equity
- Ranieri and Center for Responsible Lending chief publish paper
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The U.S. Treasury Department’s stake in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be used to expand access to affordable housing and increase racial equity, with the companies regulated more like utilities, according to Lewis Ranieri, known as the father of mortgage-backed securities.
With Fannie and Freddie making profits again, Treasury has an investment in the mortgage giants that is worth as much as $100 billion as a result of the federal government bailing them out at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, Ranieri, 74, and Center for Responsible Lending President Michael Calhoun wrote in a report for the Brookings Institution released Tuesday. Those funds should be deployed to broaden access to home buying, they said.