Housing/Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Secretary has general regulatory authority over the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (Government-Sponsored Enterprises or GSEs) with the authority to make necessary rules and regulations to ensure that the GSEs accomplish their public purposes in accordance with the GSEs’ Charter Acts and the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (FHEFSSA). The Secretary also carries out specific regulatory authorities over the GSEs under FHEFSSA.
The Department’s specific GSE regulatory oversight responsibilities under Subtitle A, Part 2 of FHEFSSA include establishing, monitoring, and enforcing housing goals for the GSEs’ purchase of mortgages on housing for low- and moderate-income families, housing located in central cities, rural areas, and other underserved areas, and housing meeting the needs of, and affordable to, low-income families in low-income areas and very low-incomefamilies; reviewing new programs; reviewing GSE activities for Charter compliance; implementing Fair Housing requirements applicable to the GSEs and directing the GSEs to take appropriate remedial action against lenders that have engaged in discriminatory lending practices in violation of the Fair Housing Act or Equal Opportunity Credit Act; establishing and maintaining a public use database concerning GSE activities; and performing other regulatory functions.
The GSEs are stockholder-owned, privately managed corporations chartered by Congress to fulfill various public purposes by providing a secondary market for home mortgages. They receive significant public benefits to carry out their purposes. The Secretary’s regulatory powers over the GSEs are distinct from the authority of the Director of HUD’s Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) -- OFHEO regulates the financial safety and soundness of the GSEs.
Applicant Eligibility:Not applicable.
Legal Authority: Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act, Title III of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C 1716 et seq.); Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act, Title III of the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970 (12 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); and the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, Title XIII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.). Regulations are at 24 CFR part 81.
Administering Office: Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC 20410-8000. (The Assistant Secretary for Housing administers the Secretary’s delegated authority for GSE oversight in cooperation with HUD’s Offices of General Counsel, Policy Development and Research, and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO).