The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Vice President Brad Thaler thanked Senate Banking Committee leaders for holding a hearing on housing finance reform and provided the set of housing finance reform principles that NAFCU believes should be included any measures adopted.
"We urge you to consider these principles that are important to credit unions as you examine the future of housing finance," Thaler wrote to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. "We look forward to working with the committee as it determines the best way forward to creating a healthy and stable housing finance marketplace and stand ready provide input and assistance throughout the process."
Last week, NAFCU sent its housing finance reform principles to all members of Congress and top members of the administration.
In these principles, NAFCU reiterates the importance of unfettered access to the secondary mortgage market for credit unions with fair pricing based on loan quality as opposed to volume.
The association's core principles also include:
- an explicit government guarantee on the payment of principal and interest on mortgage-backed securities;
- self-funded government-sponsored enterprises without any dedicated government appropriations;
- the creation of a Federal Housing Finance Agency board of advisors;
- allowance for the GSEs to rebuild their capital buffers;
- the Federal Home Loan Banks remaining a central part of the mortgage market; and
- credit risk transactions being expanded and the Common Securitization Platform and the Single Security retained.
Attached please find the full text of letter.