A lenders' group has called upon the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("DOT") and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") to restructure the bailout payments that are required from FNMA and FHLMC to the federal government
for the bailout of the GSEs after the burst of the housing bubble. In an article appearing today in DSNews it is reported that a group known as Community Mortgage Lenders of America ("CMLA") has requested that DOT and FHFA amend the repayment agreement between the government and the GSEs to allow the GSEs to retain more of their profits and restore their capital positions so that they can end their higher pricing and 
higher costs of borrowing. After the burst of the housing bubble, FNMA and FHLMC did not turn a profit until 2012. Most of their profits, according to the article, are paid to the government to repay the funds pumped into the GSEs to keep them afloat in 2008.
The article indicates that the GSEs have repaid a combined total of $225.5 billion to the government. In November 2013, a report in USA Today indicated that the bailout was approximately $188 billion. The DSNews article did not cite any amount for the bailout.
CMLA Chair Paulina McGrath does not see a purpose for higher fees and costs by the GSEs if the higher fees and costs are not rebuilding the capital of the GSEs. "Making mortgage money more expensive is simply locking many borrowers out of the market and serves no benefit to the GSEs," McGrath said. "Renegotiating the [agreement] now is a common sense approach to ensuring the safety and soundness of the GSEs."
We should all make are voices heard on Capitol Hill regarding this issue and resolve some of the root problem of the high cost of credit. You can locate the contact information for your representatives and senators HERE.
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