Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2014
Keywords
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Government-Sponsored Enterprise, Federal Housing Finance Agency, housing finance, mortgage market, guaranteed mortgage, affordable housing, Dodd-Frank, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Administration, Johnson-Crapo, Housing and Economic Recovery Act
Disciplines
Banking and Finance Law | Property Law and Real Estate
Abstract
Who should be providing mortgage credit to American households? Given that the residential mortgage market is a ten-trillion-dollar one, the answer we come up with had better be right, or we may suffer another brutal financial crisis sooner than we would like. Indeed, the stakes are as high as they were in the Great Depression when the foundation of our current system was first laid down. Unfortunately, the housing finance experts of the 1930s seemed to have a greater clarity of purpose when designing their housing finance system. Part of the problem today is that debates over the housing finance system have been muddled by broader ideological battles and entrenched special interests, as well as by plain old inertia and the fear of change. It is worth taking a step back to evaluate the full range of options available to us, as the course we decide upon will shape the housing market for generations to come.
Recommended Citation
David Reiss, "Response: Who Should Be Providing Mortgage Credit to American Households?," 89 Tulane Law Review 181 (November 2014)
Comments
This is a Response to Brent Horton, "For the Protection of Investors and the Public: Why Fannie Mae’s Mortgage-Backed Securities Should Be Subject to the Disclosure Requirements of the Securities Act of 1933," 89 Tulane Law Review (2014). It predates the author's affiliation with Cornell Law School.