Living wills for housing government-sponsored enterprises: Implementation and impact

One of the best tools to resolve large complex financial institutions are resolutions plans, also known as living wills, that outline liquidating, reorganizing, or otherwise resolving failure. New regulations from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will require the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—to prepare living wills, just as large banks have been required to do since passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. How we prepare for death can reveal a lot about how we plan to live. What will Fannie and Freddie’s resolution plans mean for the nation’s housing market, which depends on the GSEs?

On Tuesday, May 11, the Center on Regulations and Markets at Brookings hosted Mark Calabria, director of the FHFA, to give keynote remarks on the agency’s progress in creating this rule. Following the keynote remarks, a panel of experts responded to the resolution plans.