Federal Housing Finance Agency

Federal Housing Finance Agency
Seal
Agency overview
FormedJuly 30, 2008 (2008-07-30)[1]
Preceding agencies
Employees~731 (2019)
Agency executive
Websitefhfa.gov

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is an independent federal agency in the United States created as the successor regulatory agency of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development government-sponsored enterprise mission team,[3] absorbing the powers and regulatory authority of both entities, with expanded legal and regulatory authority, including the ability to place government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) into receivership or conservatorship.[4][5][6]

In its role as regulator, it regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks, or FHLBank System). It is wholly separate from the Federal Housing Administration, which largely provides mortgage insurance.

In September 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in an en banc opinion, ruled that the structure of the FHFA violated constitutional separation of powers because its director could not be removed by the president.[7] The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that part of the holding.[8]

  1. ^ Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine (PDF)
  2. ^ "Leadership and Organization". Federal Housing Finance Agency. June 21, 2022. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  3. ^ FHFA. About FHFA Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
  5. ^ "10-Q, August 6, 2008". Freddie Mac. 2008-08-06. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2008. The Regulatory Reform Act replaces the conservatorship provisions previously applicable to the enterprise with conservatorship and receivership provisions based generally on federal banking law. The Regulatory Reform Act expands the grounds for which an enterprise may be placed into conservatorship, establishes the grounds for which an enterprise may be placed into receivership, and provides for appointment of FHFA as conservator or receiver.
  6. ^ "Fact Sheet: Questions and Answers on Conservatorship" (PDF). Federal Housing Finance Agency. 2008-09-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  7. ^ "No. 17-20364" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. ^ "Supreme Court finds FHFA structure unconstitutional". Housing Wire. HW Media, LLC. 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.