On August 7, Treasury Secretary Geithner made opening remarks at the Conference on the Future of Housing Finance. Secretary Geithner outlined four key questions underlying the approach to housing finance reform: (i) what role the government should play to provide stability in the housing finance system, (ii) what role the government should play in providing financial support to improve access to affordable housing, (iii) how to manage the securitization market, and (iv) how to manage the transition into a new housing finance system. Secretary Geithner also highlighted the need for government involvement in providing a form of guarantee or insurance in a reformed system, noting that any government guarantee should be priced to cover the risk of losses and structured to minimize taxpayer exposure. HUD Secretary Donovan followed Secretary Geithner’s remarks and focused on policy issues and the broader social impact of housing finance. Secretary Geithner’s Remarks. Secretary Donovan’s Remarks.
Conference on the Future of Housing Finance
Obama Administration Announces Panelists for Housing Conference
On August 12, the Obama administration announced a list of panelists and conference agenda for the August 17 “Conference on the Future of Housing Finance“. The goal of the conference is to provide a forum for input to the administration as it develops a comprehensive housing finance reform proposal anticipated to be delivered to Congress by January 2011.
Please see the following links to indexed compilations of the comment letters provided to HUD and Treasury in response to the Obama administration’s request for public input on reform of the housing finance system. HUD Responses. Treasury Responses. Treasury Release.
Obama Administration Announces Conference on Housing Reform
On July 27, the Obama Administration announced it will host a “Conference on the Future of Housing Finance” on August 17 at the Treasury Department. The conference will assemble academic experts, consumer and community organizations, industry groups, market participants, and other stakeholders for an open discussion about housing finance reform. The Administration seeks to provide Congress with a comprehensive housing finance reform proposal by January 2011, and will use over 300 comment letters received in response to Treasury and HUD’s solicitation of public comment on the future of the housing finance system to help develop its proposal. Treasury Release.
Note: To search for the Comment Letters on the website provided in the Treasury Release, please select “Public Submissions” under the Document Type drop-down menu, and search for keywords “housing finance”.