Results from the National Association of Business Economics' (NABE) recent economic policy survey suggest that greater explicit subsidization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would not provide long-term benefits to the mortgage market.
The semiannual survey, which polled 203 NABE members between Feb. 4 and 22, found that only 23% of respondents believe the long-term health of the mortgage market would be promoted by greater subsidization of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
Respondents were surveyed on a range of economic issues, including the financial regulation reforms being debated in Congress. Sixty-six percent of respondents do not believe the Obama administration-proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility fee will be positive for bank customers, and 49% said imposing size restrictions on financial institutions would not be effective in solving the too-big-to-fail dilemma.
When it came to the proposed consumer protection agency, responses were mixed: 54% said creation of such an agency would not impair safety and soundness regulation, while 25% said it would be detrimental. Forty-three percent of respondents said an agency would not impair access to credit, while 39% said it would.
Fannie Mae's chief economist, Douglas Duncan, and the Mortgage Bankers Association's vice president of single-family research and policy, Michael Fratantoni, were among the economics tapped to conduct survey analysis.
SOURCE: National Association of Business Economics