Complexity Simplified: What the Future Holds for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Housing Finance System Part 1

Welcome to the latest edition of Summit's Complexity Simplified  podcast. This week, our host Tim Uy, Summit's senior economist and housing finance specialist, sits down with Josh Goldberg, Head of Housing Finance at Summit, and Mark Hanson, a longtime advisor and former senior executive at Freddie Mac, to tackle a timely and foundational topic: GSE reform. 

Together, they explore the past, present, and potential future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the two government-sponsored enterprises that play a critical, if often underappreciated, role in U.S. housing finance. 

From conservatorship to capital markets, the conversation spans everything from the origins of the 30-year mortgage to the evolution of the to-be-announced (TBA) market and the importance of the liquidity in the market for agency mortgage-backed securities. 

Josh reflects on his early work leading model risk management and audit teams within Freddie Mac, and Mark brings a four-decade perspective on how the mortgage-backed securities market matured. What unites them is a shared understanding that the GSEs are more than just financial institutions: they are policy institutions that influence access to credit, mortgage pricing, and, ultimately, the dream of homeownership. 

 “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage without a prepayment penalty is largely a uniquely American invention,” Mark explains. “And it exists because we’ve built this ecosystem—through the GSEs, through securitization, through the TBA market—that supports it.”

The episode sets the historical context:

• How the GSEs came to be.
• How they adapted to crises like the Great Depression and the 2008 financial meltdown.
• Why questions around asset-liability management, interest rate risk, and equitable access remain central today. 

Stay tuned for Part Two, where the panel digs even deeper into developments during conservatorship, risk-sharing models, and the complex web of stakeholders that make this one of the most impactful policy areas for American families. 

Listen to the podcast below, and let us know what you think!