On Aug. 27th, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a letter to Senator Charles Schumer, in which he said there’s no need to lift the caps on Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s portfolios. A similar opinion was expressed by OFHEO (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight), the federal regulator of the two GSEs’, and President George Bush a couple of weeks ago when a suggestion to lift the portfolio limitations on Fannie and Freddie was rejected. Bernanke said that policy makers may encourage Fannie and Freddie to package more loans into securities and sell them to investors, as these actions are not constrained by the portfolio caps. Bernanke also said that the Fed is closely monitoring the financial markets and “is prepared to act as needed” to prevent bigger problems.
Bernanke suggested developing new mortgage products for low- and moderate-income borrowers that would not cause unexpected spikes in mortgage payments. Clearer explanation of loan terms would also be beneficial to potential borrowers. He also noted that reforming the FHA (Federal Housing Agency) might be helpful.
Analysts believe that these comments spell a high likelihood of a Fed rate cut on the next meeting Sept. 18. Another speech by Bernanke is scheduled for this Friday, and it may well shed some more light on what the Fed is about to do.
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