Serving Mortgage Market Segments Effectively

Publication Date

October 2014

Author(s)

Kevin A. Park

Client/Funder

Ford Foundation

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Overview

Government-sponsored housing finance agencies can serve a purpose and public benefit distinct from yet complementary to the pure private market by serving creditworthy borrowers considered too risky for the private market to serve profitably.

Doing so will require allowing these agencies to price their mortgages in such a way that risk is covered but mortgages remain affordable. This can be accomplished by allowing the agencies to employ a model that lowers their return on capital and spreads risk across their portfolio.