Ground laid for GSEs to leave conservatorship

There is increasing evidence that the incoming Trump administration will seek to exit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from public hands and return the agencies to the private sector.

Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and a Biden appointee, will resign from her role on January 19^th – the day before inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump – according to the agency.

Thompson was appointed as acting director of the FHFA when Biden took office in early 2021 replaced Trump appointee Mark Calabria. She was confirmed by the Senate as permanent director in May 2022.

In addition to the news of Thompson’s departure, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the FHFA last week announced an agreement to change the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements with (PSPAs) with the GSEs. This is also seen as a step by which the ground is prepared for the GSEs to exit conservatorship.

The return of the GSEs to the private sector has been a long-cherished hope for Republican opinion. “It appears that they’re trying to create an orderly path for the GSEs to exit conservatorship,” says a well-placed market source.

Simon Boughey