The topic of Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) privatization is at least two decades old. In the early 1980s, HUD studied the feasibility of privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 1986, Freddie Mac's Advisory Committee (the pre-cursor to its Board of Directors) discussed the subject. In...

Despite its recognized economic and social importance, housing finance often remains underdeveloped in emerging economies. Residential lending remains small, poorly accessible, and depository-based. Lenders remain vulnerable to significant credit, liquidity, and interest rate risks. As a result,...

This paper reviews the major characteristics and performance of a number of OECD country mortgage markets. The paper compares and contrasts the structure, principal features and performance of the primary and secondary markets with that of the US. The comparison includes the types of lenders and...

Housing finance markets have been changing dramatically in both emerging and developed economies. On the one hand, housing finance markets are expanding and represent a powerful engine for economic growth in many emerging economies. However, the unfolding sub-prime mortgage crisis highlights the...

A central argument in the ongoing discussion about the fates of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the importance of the 30-year, fixed-rate, prepayable mortgage (FRM). The FRM has been held up as the gold standard in mortgage instrument design and as an essential element of the U.S. housing-finance...

China has weathered the global financial turmoil in much better shape than most other countries, including the United States. However, there been concerns that banks loosened their lending standards too much as a result of a huge stimulus, among other factors. This led to excessive lending to...

This comparison of mortgage product offerings in developed countries reveals significant differences in the dominant product offerings. Countries differ in terms of the market share of adjustable versus fixed-rate mortgages, the use of pre-payment penalties, maximum term and the offering of...