REFinBlog

Editor: David Reiss
Cornell Law School

March 26, 2025

Trump’s Plans to Privatize Fannie and Freddie

By David Reiss

I was interviewed on  WBUR-FM’s On Point (distributed by American Public Radio), hosted by Meghna Chakrabarti for an episode on How Trump Plans To Get Government out of the Mortgage Business. The link has the recording of the show as … Continue reading

March 21, 2025

Move Fast and Break the Mortgage Market

By David Reiss

I was quoted in the American Prospect’s story, Move Fast and Break the Mortgage Market. It reads, in part, This week, the Donald Trump–appointed chief regulator for the two quasi-governmental companies that own or control about half of the residential … Continue reading

May 9, 2019

Financing The American Dream

By David Reiss

I published Financing The American Dream in the May/June 2019 issue of the ABA’s Probate & Property magazine.  it opens, Two movie scenes can bookend the last hundred years of housing finance. In Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (RKO … Continue reading

March 12, 2018

Nonbanks and The Next Crisis

By David Reiss

    Researchers at the Fed and UC Berkeley have posted Liquidity Crises in the Mortgage Markets. The authors conclusions are particularly troubling: The nonbank mortgage sector has boomed in recent years. The combination of low interest rates, well-functioning GSE and … Continue reading

January 29, 2018

Bringing Housing Finance Reform over the Finish Line

By David Reiss

The Milkin Institute have released Bringing Housing Finance Reform over the Finish Line. It opens, The housing finance reform debate has once again gained momentum with the goal of those involved to move forward with bipartisan legislation in 2018 that results … Continue reading

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January 29, 2018 in Ginnie Mae | Permalink | No Comments

October 16, 2017

The Next Taxpayer Bailout for the Mortgage Market?

By David Reiss

    The HUD Office of the Inspector General issued an audit on Nonbank Oversight by Ginnie Mae. This audit is one of those dry government documents that contain whispers of crises to come. The worrisome sentence is buried at … Continue reading

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October 16, 2017 in Ginnie Mae | Permalink | No Comments

September 9, 2015

Better to Be a Banker or a Non-Banker?

By David Reiss

  The Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) has prepared an interesting chart, Comparison of Consumer and Financial Regulation of Non-bank Mortgage Lenders vs. Banks.  The CHLA is a trade association that represents non-bank lenders, so the chart has to be read in … Continue reading

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September 9, 2015 in Ginnie Mae | Permalink | No Comments