Earlier this week, January 16, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, D-CA, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, delivered her first policy speech in the 116th Congress. Excerpted below, are her comments on the government sponsored enterprises, causes of the financial crisis and her core principles for housing.

The committee also has a responsibility to look at our housing finance system and address the fates of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored enterprises. The GSEs have been in government conservatorship for more than a decade.

Contrary to Republican claims, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not cause the financial crisis. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and others have made that clear. The financial crisis was driven by predatory lending, the private market packaging those toxic, risky loans into securities and then selling those securities to unsuspecting investors.

Fannie and Freddie did not drive those actions, but the events that transpired during the crisis made clear the need for their reform. When it comes to housing finance reform, I have advocated for core principles that I believe should be part of legislative efforts to address the future of housing finance reform.

The principles include the following:

• Maintaining access to the 30-year fixed rate mortgage;
• Ensuring sufficient private capital is in place to protect taxpayers;
• Providing stability and liquidity so that we can withstand any future financial crisis;
• Ensuring a smooth transition to a new finance system;
• Requiring transparency and standardization in a way that ensures a level playing field for all financial institutions, especially credit unions and community banks;
• Maintaining access for all qualified borrowers that can sustain homeownership and serving homeowners of the future; and
• Ensuring access to affordable rental housing.

It is particularly important to ensure that underserved borrowers and communities are not overlooked. This means housing finance reform will need to include a comprehensive strategy around access to affordable mortgage credit, as well as access to affordable rental housing.

Also important for housing access is the rigorous enforcement of our fair-housing laws. Unfortunately, our fight to make progress on fair housing has become much more challenging under the Trump Administration. Let’s not forget that President Trump himself was sued by the government for serious violations of the Fair Housing Act. Under Trump’s leadership, the affirmatively furthering fair housing mandate under the Fair Housing Act was badly undercut when Secretary Carson halted implementation of the Obama administration’s affirmatively furthering fair housing rule.

In fact, Secretary Carson once likened the rule to a “failed social experiment.” Secretary Carson has also reportedly proposed taking the words “free from discrimination” out of HUD’s mission statement. He also reportedly halted several fair housing investigations, and sidelined top advisors in HUD’s Office of Fair Housing Enforcement. These are unprecedented attacks on fair housing that we will not stand for.

To that end, in addition to conducting robust oversight of the Trump Administration’s activities at HUD, I will be reintroducing the Restoring Fair Housing Protections Act, my bill to reverse the harmful steps taken by Secretary Carson and the Trump Administration to undermine fair housing. I promise to continue to stand up for fair housing opportunities for all people.

PennyMac Loan Services has launched a home equity line of credit product, with the objective of supporting the financing needs of consumers. The aim is to offer the banks 1.4 million customers another way to use their home equity for home improvements, debt consolidation and other expenses while allowing them to maintain their first-mortgage interest rates.

“We are excited to announce PennyMac’s entry into the HELOC segment of mortgage finance,” said Doug Jones, chief mortgage banking officer at Penny Mac. “We believe this is the right time to introduce this product to our customers who have seen the equity in their homes increase and want to keep their current first-mortgage interest rates. We expect our leading market position and operational capabilities to help fuel our HELOC production activities.”

PennyMac has begun accepting HELOC applications from current customers in five states: California, Florida, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, and will roll out the home equity product in additional states throughout the year. As the HELOC program expands, the company plans to offer it to homeowners who aren’t PennyMac clients.

Many consumers aren’t comfortable working with a lender, even 10 years on from the financial meltdown.

More than a quarter, 26 percent, of respondents don’t trust big banks since the housing crash of 2008, and 32 percent, reported they have no familiarity at all with the available mortgage-lending options, according to the Homebuyer Sentiment Survey from Eave Inc., a lender conducting business in Colorado and California.

Even some borrowers with the means to qualify for a mortgage, expressed reservations. Fully 33 percent said the process is too stressful and 72 percent said it should be easier. Meanwhile, 20 percent of respondents said they could afford a home, and their finances were too complex for them to have a realistic chance to secure a mortgage.

Thirty-seven percent claim the Millennial generation has had the most negative effect on the housing market. Interestingly, 44 percent of Millennials agree that their generation is to blame.

Do Homebuyers Hate or Trust the Mortgage Process?

• Twenty-one percent believe the home financing process is completely broken.
• Forty-eight percent believe traditional mortgage lenders will not treat them fairly. Fully 41 percent do not want to interact with a mortgage lending company or banker when buying a new home.
• Fifteen percent would rather break a bone than go through the home-buying process.
• To make the home buying process less miserable 26 percent reported they would give up their favorite vice, including booze, smoking, dessert, etc.; nine percent would shave one year off their life spans.

 Home Buying and Relationships:

• Thirty-eight percent said they are likely to buy a home with someone they are not married or in long term committed relationship.
• When asked to rank life events according to importance, respondents rank home buying, No. 3, ahead of having children, No. 4, but behind graduating from college, No. 1, and getting married, No. 2.
• Close to half, 48 percent, wish finding a dating partner also required a pre-approval letter, just like getting a loan for buying a home.