President Donald Trump recently selected Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Officials said the action stems from current FHFA Director Mel Watt departing the post on Jan. 6.
Trump previously nominated Mark Calabria, chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence, to the post, officials noted, but acknowledged because Congress begins a new session Jan. 3, Calabria would need to be re-nominated in order to start the confirmation process.
Otting will continue leading the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), per authorities, who added he would serve as the FHFA’s acting director until a permanent director is confirmed.
In anticipation of housing finance reform talks to carrying into the new Congress, National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) officials said the organization would continually educate the administration and lawmakers on the importance of credit unions maintaining access to the secondary mortgage market and fair pricing based on loan quality, not quantity, in any reform efforts.
Association officials said the group had urged the administration and Congress to work together on a comprehensive housing finance reform solution while asserting the continued conservatorship of the government-sponsored enterprises is unsustainable.
NAFCU officials previously shared with lawmakers and Trump Administration personnel core principles for housing finance reform that should be included in any final reform measures.