Bipartisan Policy Center to Call for Housing Finance Reform at June 17 Event

June 7, 2013

Former FHFA Director James Lockhart and Lewis S. Ranieri, “father” of the securitized mortgage market, will headline event

Washington, D.C. – June 7, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — On Monday, June 17, 2013, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will host a public forum to call upon Congress and the administration to reform our nation’s housing finance system.

The forum, Housing Finance Reform: Is Inertia Gaining Momentum?, takes place nearly five years after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in conservatorship. Today, some 90 percent of new mortgage originations are insured by the federal government, as are nearly all newly-issued mortgage-backed securities.

In their keynote remarks, Lewis S. Ranieri and James B. Lockhart III will reflect on the decision to place the GSEs in conservatorship and lessons learned from that moment of crisis.

Other leaders from across the housing industry will discuss why the government-dominated status quo is unsustainable and why bipartisan legislative action is needed to create a sound, stable system of housing finance that enhances consumer choice while protecting the American taxpayer. A full agenda is below.

Panelists will take questions from the audience and press following each panel.

The event is open to press, but space is limited. Please email your RSVP to ">.

This event follows the February 2013 release of Housing America’s Future: New Directions for National Policy, a report of BPC’s Housing Commission. Supported unanimously by the 21-member commission, whose co-chairs are former Senators George J. Mitchell, Christopher S. “Kit” Bond, and Mel Martinez and former HUD Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, the report recommends a reformed housing finance system in which the private sector plays a far greater role in absorbing mortgage credit risk.

Forum Agenda:

9:00-9:30AM
Breakfast and Registration

9:30-9:40AM
Opening Remarks

9:40-10:10AM
Keynote Presentation: Why the Status Quo is Unsustainable
Lewis S. Ranieri, Ranieri Partners

10:10-10:40AM
Panel: Views from Across the Spectrum

Mark Calabria
Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Cato Institute

Sarah Wartell
President, Urban Institute

Moderated by
Robert M. Couch
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
BPC Housing Commissioner

10:40-11:10AM
Keynote Presentation: Call for Legislative Action
James B. Lockhart III, WL Ross & Co.

11:10-11:50AM
Panel: Industry Perspectives on Housing Finance Reform

Kevin Kelly, President
Leon N. Weiner & Associates, Inc.
First Vice Chairman of the Board, National Association of Home Builders
David Stevens
President and CEO, Mortgage Bankers Association