House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called on Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting to disclose his plans for the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") by February 1, 2019. As previously covered, President Donald J. Trump expressed his intention to name Mr. Otting as Acting Director of the FHFA.
In a letter, Rep. Waters and Sen. Brown said that they have neither (i) had the opportunity to probe Mr. Otting's views on the housing finance system and the policies that he may pursue at FHFA nor (ii) seen a statement from the White House or the U.S. Treasury regarding their views on the regulation of the housing finance system.
Additionally, the Democratic leaders noted that Mr. Otting reportedly said that he would move Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "out of conservatorship." Rep. Waters and Sen. Brown criticized Mr. Otting's comments, saying they "call into question the independence of the FHFA under [his] leadership."
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