In the public presentations at today’s housing-reform roundtable, little new ground was broken. Secretary Geithner repeated prior comments about ending the “toxic” public-private GSE structure without showing any skin as to how to do so. He did, though, ask a lot of questions about how to target a USG guarantee, reinforcing our view that a federal MBS backstop – likely just for catastrophic risk – is a contender as the final Administration reform option. Geithner and HUD Secretary Donovan also made clear that they want private capital back in the game even as they stood firm – as before – in defense of a federal role to promote affordable housing.
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