Privatizing Fannie and Freddie not a top priority, says Trump’s new FHFA director

Bill Pulte, who was confirmed by the US Senate on Thursday to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency for the Trump administration, said he’s in no rush to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage behemoths that power more than half of America’s mortgages.

Bill Pulte, who was confirmed by the US Senate on Thursday to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency for the Trump administration, said he’s in no rush to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage behemoths that power more than half of America’s mortgages. “Fannie and Freddie shouldn’t be in conservatorship forever,” Pulte told CNN on Thursday. “But it’s critical to ensure any discussion about exiting conservatorship needs not only to ensure safety and soundness but how it would affect mortgage rates.” In 2019, Trump’s first administration tried — and failed — to wrest Fannie and Freddie from the government conservatorship that’s been in place since the 2008 financial crisis. Many of Trump’s allies in the Republican Party have long advocated for ending the conservatorship, which was always intended to be temporary. America’s housing market today faces elevated borrowing rates, a supply shortage and near-record high home prices. Some experts have warned that efforts to privatize Fannie and Freddie could disturb mortgage markets, making it more expensive for Americans to borrow money to purchase a home. Though mortgage rates have fallen below recent highs, they still remain elevated compared to recent history. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.65% for the week ending on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac. Pulte, whose grandfather founded the nation’s third-largest homebuilder, PulteGroup, said that privatizing the two companies is not the Trump administration’s top priority this time around. Pulte stressed that any effort to spin off Fannie and Freddie would need to include “significant study” on what the effort might do to mortgage rates.