>> up next on c-span, "newsmakers" with mel watt. at 8:00 eastern, "q&a" with consumer advocate ralph nader. >> "newsmakers" welcomes this week mel watt. has an enormous influence on the housing market. you gave your first public shrinking freddie mac and fannie mae. i was wondering if you can talk about what exactly do you see as your mandate at fhfa? >> multiple mandates. we have preserve an conserve mandate. we have a mandate to assure liquid resilient housing finance market and i think we have a mandate to reduce -- to taxpayers. i try to make the difference between shrinking the current footprint of fannie mae and freddie mac and shrinking their risk exposure. i don't think it's our role necessarily to shrink the footprint of fannie and freddie. >> why wouldn't you want to do that? >> it's not that i'm opposed to it. we will certainly allow it to happen to the extent that the private sector is ready to step into the space. if the private sector is not ready to step into the space and you shrink what fannie and freddie are doing,

abduction of nearly 300 school girls in nigeria. >> "newsmakers" is pleased to welcome this week mel watt, the north carolina congressman in january became the head of the federal housing finance agency which oversees fha, fannie mae freddie mac, housing assets and has an influence on the housing market in this country. this week director watt gave his maiden speech in your new position. this is your first television interview. thank youthank you for being here. clea benson covers housing policy and nick is the correspondent with lots of coverage of housing for "the wall street journal." >> as was mentioned, you gave your first public speech this week. one of the things that you said is that you don't necessarily see it as the role of fhfa to be shrinking fannie mae and freddie mac. that marks a significant departure from the philosophy that was pursued by your predecessor. so i was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what actually do you see as your mandate at fhfa? >> well, we have multiple mandates. we have the preserve and conserved mandate, assuming the conservatorship par

mel watt, finally come out and started to talk. think of him and fannie and freddie? >> mel watt, liked him in "star wars." absolute love him at fhfa. he is fantastic. he came out. went into hiding for a long time. then he popped up. first thing he said, hey, we don't have any money. could you keep taking it all away. that is probably not a good thing. we like that. then he comes around and says i will make it easier on warrants like brian described so more lending can get done. we're fans. we're watt fans. >> he needs to go spend vacation time in the bahama a mass with charlie wrangle and anything else. >> we're good to go. liz: give him for at least assessing the situation. should fannie and freddie, you guys stay as government sponsored entities? >> they should but got to take them out of conservatorship. they should have taken them out of conservatorship a year ago. >> yeah. >> they took the biggest bailout in the history of the world. we all know that people are spreading that information. what is not talked about they paid th

what mel watts said was we'll put in place a list of processes. if you follow these rules we're not going to ask you to buy them back. the banks need to feel comfortable, and one of the things that they're now going to allow if a loan that has been sold to fannie and freddie has two delinquents within the first six months they won't ask for that possible bought back by the bank where in the past they have. >> i imagine the banks love that. >> they do. i think they should. it's allowing some leeway, recognizing that the pendulum had swung too far back in the other direction, and giving the bank some protection for those buy backs. >> now we mentioned this is something of a reversal for the administration. how does this--how is this different from watts' bread sezzer, and does it show much of a shift to. >> fannie and freddie are buying two out of three loans originated in today's market. it is a huge impact but he's emphasizing the things already in place. the 43% requirement, the debt to income. if you're a homeowner typically the line is if your

how much power does mel watt have to lower the fees further for fee reduction.er of fhfa director? one of the things he could have done and something we would have supported would have been to lower the loan limits for the private sector. he has chosen not to do that. we have encouraged it so that the private market can do that. over 90% of the mortgages in this country are under written by the taxpayers. if tomorrow morning mel watt decided that there will be principle reduction on mortgages and there isn't anything he can do no stop it? >> as conserve ter and regulator he has certain latitude. i do know he has the ability to do things with the gp's and the loan limits and obviously i think the entities have been doing principle write-downs with the settlements. >> lis ep, we are pretty much out of time. i want you to answer yes or no to the following questions. is it now an entitlement owning a house predicated on political ties? >> we have nationalized the housing market. when you can control financing you control the flow of housing in this country. thank yo

we talked about the fhfa which mel watt heads. >> guest: fha plays a very important role. the federal housing authority and they basically have always been there for first time homebuyers. very low down payment loans and they have been playing a big role in the market particularly propping up the market during its darkest days after the crisis. they have had problems with delinquencies and i think they have raised their premiums five times in the past couple of years. >> host: is a premium? >> guest: a premium is a fee that's imposed on the loans so it's imposed on the borrowers. that has really cut down their share of the market but they are still there. i think they have 20% of the market and they support to 20% the mortgages. >> host: daren blomquist when you look at the national economy what percentage do you think the u.s. parsing market continues -- contributes? >> guest: i don't know the answer to that question off the top of my head but it's a significant driver of the economy and they think it helps drive the economy on the upside and it also really was what led u

in the interim period what i'm most concerned about is, while there is hope for reform, mel watt hason the move right now. >> right. >> i want to know, should he move and continue to put the gseness play, you know, for more 3% down payment, what recourse do you and the senate or the house have? >> well, if he starts moving aggressively more aggressively in that direction, he will absolutely spur a reaction. i can guarantee you that. he's been -- >> what would that reaction be? >> he's been sending mixed messages so far. he hasn't done what i would like in terms of reducing loan limits at fhfa the way they talk about or reducing the footprint of the gses but he hasn't been all-in in the other direction either. if he starts going aggressively in that other direction, i think it would absolutely spur bipartisan reaction and action on capitol hill. >> all right. there was recently a vote for silvia burrell to replace sebelius at hhs. i know you weren't one of the senators that was into putting her into this role, but it certainly seems like it's going to happen. now that the bar is 50 vo

what is mel watt going to do to end the conservatorship. to put fannie and freddie in position for whatever comes next. he made it clear he shouldn't substitute his judgment for congress. these are companies that don't have capital. i think the big question here is, how does he view his mandate to run conservatorship. >> for now, he's made it very clear, he only wants to talk about what these companies can do right now to stabilize the housing market that's a little bit fragile. if these companies are in limbo, he may need to be talking about their future about whether to invest in them and how they're going to proceed. >> last question -- he did say about changing the construct win way -- one way to reduce the footprint. did he set up a framework to encourage that? >> fannie and freddie have done these. right now fannie and freddie are mortgage guarantors. they don't make mortgages. they buy loans. they sell them back to investors in the form of securities and they provide guarantees to those investors. that has created a very deep liquid

tot is mel watt going to do end the conservatorship? and freddie in a position for whatever comes next? he made clear he doesn't feel he should substitute his judgment if they're not going decide. but at some point this gets harder to run. these are company that's don't capital. so i think the big question here view his mandate to run this conservatorship especially in the absence of being able to decide on that long-term question. >> and for now he's made it very he only wants to talk about what these companies can to stabilize a housing market that's a little bit fragile. but a couple of years out if these companies are still in limbo, he may need to be talking their future and making decisions about whether to them and how they're going to proceed. >> the last question. say thatecifically without changing the construct, footprint reduce the was private capital into the housing marketplace. he did set up a framework that that?encourage >> fannie and freddie have done -- they're kind of wonky in thesertgage world but mortgage derivativ

and last but not least, mel watts. you'll want to see and hear this.e greet you. treat you. care for you. today, you can come to cleveland clinic for anything, everything or just to get that "thing" checked out. big, small, and yes, the best heart care in the nation. it's here everyday, for everyone. that's the power the power, that's the power of today. cleveland clinic. call today, for an appointment today. dog: get four years get four years interest-free financing on the entire tempur-pedic cloud collection, even a queen size sealy gel memory foam mattress for just $497. the memorial day sale is ending soon. >>> dow is down 53. consumer discretionary one of the losers. seema has more on that. >> hey, carl. a tough day for consumer discretionary stocks. fossil, the biggest laggard after warning that its current quarter profit l come in well below street estimates. this as same-store sales in north america continue to decline. whirlpool, gamestop, kohl's and wynn resorts also in the red. kayla? >> thank you so much, seema. >>> the next guest has led i

i'm pleased today to introduce today's keynote speaker, mel watt, who is the director of the federal housing finance agency. we are thrilled to have director watt here today. we are now approaching 60 are since fannie mae and freddie mac were placed into conservatorship. much has changed since then, including the profitability of the countries, but the fundamental structure in many ways is unchanged. while congress actively debates whether and how to reform the housing finance system, the decisions that director watt and fha make are critically important in determining housing affordability and the degree to which taxpayers will bear risk in the mortgage market. director watt has been in his current job for about four months now as the regular and conservator of fannie and freddie, and a regular of 12 banks. prior to that, he was with the u.s. house of representatives for over 20 years representing his home state of north carolina after set -- serving for two years in the state senate. before that, he practiced law for over 20 years, specializing in minority business and economic dev

they're starting to ease up, and, you know, there was some positive comments yesterday from mel watt, the fhfa, and i think credit's going to continue to loosen slowly. but you can certainly get a loan. it's a great time to get a loan and buy a house. liz: i'm going to remember you said that. [laughter] because a lot of people have trouble, you know? they're being very strict in certain reasons. steve, thank you for giving us that feel or what's going on on the ground. we appreciate it. >> thank you, liz. liz: stephen hilton is chairman and ceo of meritage homes. we hear from the business leaders who say i don't even know where they got that number for nahb because sentiment is certainly a varying degree of emotions. but we're watching this and everything else. the closing bell, yeah, the markets just couldn't quite push hard enough against that number though. we're seeing the closing bell in about five and a half minutes. home builder sentiment pretty shabby, but what are online real estate films seeing? here's a hint: kind of a moon shot, meaning that people are at least viewing, th

first mel watt announced he will not lower the loan limits for fannie and freddie. his predecessor, who focus odd shrinks thor mortgage giants had considered that. >> this decision is motivated by concerns about how a reduction would adversely impact the current health of the housing finance market. >> now, lowering the loan limbs would have hit higher cost states like california and new york much higher than others. as for.-backs to banks, he said he would relax some of the requirements for relief from those so-called reps and warrants and clarify some uncertainties. watt will direct fannie and freddie to move toward a single security platform. finally, he didn't exactly that's some that ed demarco had refused to do. hud secretary sean donovan announced that the fha, which is the government's mortgage insurer would reduce insurance premiums for borrowers who participate. this could help may fha loans more artable. fha share has dropped amid those higher premiums. this comes with new reports that housing affordable is weaker than previously thought, points to make m

new federal financing agency chief, mel watt looks like he is reversing course on that.od or bad? let's ask dick bove, vice president of equity research. dick, you've been arguing for some time it would be wrong for the government to wind down fannie and freddie. why? >> well, i think it is pretty clear if you have no fannie and freddie you have no 30 year fixed-rate mortgages. you have no 20-year fixed-rate mortgages. there are not any banks that will make those loans. if you lose 30 and 20 year fixed-rate mortgages you drive the cost of owning a house up very dramatically on monthly payment basis which drives prices of house down. you will wipe out equity on the part of most homeowners in the united states. david: here is what a lot of viewers wonder. don't we want to scale back the government's involvement in the housing industry? >> i don't think so. i think we talk about it all the time. if one considers what impact is on their own personal home and what impact is on their wealth, they're going to want the government to continue to stay in the business and to contin

if that can't fix, it maybe mel watts' principal reduction will work. let's see, we tried that four and a half years ago, didn't get far. one question for the group. why does any taxpayer want three times the exposure and a conforming loan in california than in north dakota? is that fair? >> anybody want to take that? david, what do you think? >> i'm sorry, rick. that question was again? >> you have an upper limit on a conforming loan that's much higher in the likes of san francisco than it is in rapid city, and i don't understand why i subsidize sunshine in states where houses cost more, and in this case where the government has already nationalized all the housing industry and there's no private label mortgages. i don't understand why we don't see more ire against this scenario. >> in terms of where interest rates are today, what that means for stocks and what that means for bonds, i think we're in a long-term secular bear market that we called last may that will continue even though we've had a cyclical bull market in bonds the last three months, and

mortgages, if you don't have, you know, credit or down payments, i do think that, you know, changes that mel watt has announced for fha and fannie and freddie are changes that are going to open up the credit box a little bit. and you know, not to irresponsible levels but make it easier for people to get mortgages at the headline rates which are really important. >> on the other hand, sheri, there was an article in "the new york times" saying should you rent rather than buy? given the fact that in many parts of the country the uptick in home valuations has been anemic? not everybody is cut out to buy a house. this may be an inflection point, some say, between the renters and the buyers. >> absolutely. and that's an ever-shifting dynamic, sue. we always need to keep an eye on those numbers. there are a lot of other benefits, obviously, other than financial benefits. i mean, home ownership is essentially a forced savings account. probably the biggest incentive forcing folks out of renting is the increasing rental prices. on the other hand, you've got to remember, we've got almost 8 million people wh

back in 15 minutes to hear from a great panel on international competitiveness >> on "newsmakers," mel watt former north carolina congressman and director of the housing finance agency. he'll talk about his plans for the agency that oversees fannie and freddie mac. that's sunday, 10:00 a.m. and eastern on c-span. >> you can remember who first influenced you to just think aboutissues, think government? >> my father and mother. i putso impressed by it it in a book called "17 traditions," how they raised t, two boys, two girls, in a factory town in new england. theas conversation around dinner table. there was no looking at tv or listening to radio or looking like this. we talked. they challenged us. way, and asked us questions and needled us, joked with us. line was freedom requires civic responsibility. you can't just say i want freedom. most people think they're free free,e they're personally you know, buy their own clothes, make their own friends, go want, listen to whatever music, eat whatever they want. that doesn't mean they're free.lly democracy. engage in my dad used to say, "if you d

. >> mel watt is the director of the federal housing finance agency which oversees mortgage lenders fannie mae and freddie mac. at the brookings institution he talked about reforms to mortgage lending rules and recent changes intended to make credit more available to homeowners. in this includes analysts discussing proposed reforms to fannie mae and freddie mac. >> good morning, everyone. sdies welcome. i am the vice president and director of economic studies here at the brookings speak institution. i am very pleased today to introduce today's keynote speaker who is the director of the federal housing finance agency. we are thrilled to have them here today to give his views on housing finance and the direction in which he is taking fha. we are now approaching six years since fannie mae and freddie mac wre placed into conservatorship including the profitability ofay the company including fundamental structure that is unchanged. while congress actively debates whether to have a reform on the housing finance from the decision that directs us are critically important in determining credit avai

i'm pleased today to introduce today's keynote speaker, mel watt, who is the director of the federalousing finance agency. we are thrilled to have director walked here today -- director wa tt here today. we are now approaching 60 are since fannie mae and freddie mac were placed into conservatorship. much has changed since then, including the profitability of , but theries fundamental structure in many ways is unchanged. while congress actively debates whether and how to reform the housing finance system, the decisions that director watt and fha make are critically important in determining housing affordability and the degree to which taxpayers will bear risk in the mortgage market. director watt has been in his current job for about four months now as the regular and conservator of fannie and freddie, and a regular of 12 banks. ther to that, he was with u.s. house of representatives for over 20 years representing his home state of north carolina after set -- serving for two years in the state senate. before that, he practiced law for over 20 years, specializing in minority business a

on "newsmakers" mel watt. he will talk about his plans for the agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac. "newsmakers" on sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern on c-span. book is as newest collection of inner blues within nations -- interviews with the nation's best storytellers. a french engineer and , symbolic the great work of sculpture is a gateway to the country of new york, the statue of liberty. a gift from france by a sculptor. and towns iners universities and colleges all over the university with french names. we do not pronounce it the way they do. the influence of friends on this country is far greater than most americans appreciate. >> an interview with david mccullough. at eight."'s "sundays now available at your favorite bookseller. on may 17, 1954, the supreme court unanimously struck down racial segregation in public schools in its brown versus board of education decision. attorney general eric holder and massachusetts governor patrick discussed how the decision changed their lives and an

. >> on "newsmakers" mel watt, director of the federal housing finance agency.he will talk about his plans for the agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac. at 10:00rs" sunday a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. newest book sundays at 8:00, a collection of interviews with the best storytellers. including david mccullough. >> we're sitting here today in the city designed by a french man. lanfonte, the french engineer and architect. the great symbolic work of sculpture, the gateway to the country in new york the statue of liberty, a gift from france b y bartoli. countless rivers and universities and colleges all over the country with french names. we don't pronounce them the way they do, but the influence of france on this country is far greater than most americans appreciate. >> read the interview with david mccullough along with other noted storytellers in c-span's "sundays at eight." now available at your favorite bookseller. >> veteran foreign correspondent charles senate reflects on the political movement known as the arab spring. he reported on the

. >> on "newsmakers" mel watt and director of the federal housing finance agency.he talks by the agency and fannie mae and freddie mac heard "newsmakers" on sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern. >> c-span's newest book "sundays at eight" thick collection of interviews with the nation's best storytellers. .> we are sitting here today there's a french engineer and architect. the great symbolic work sculpture is the gateway to that country of new york, the statue of liberty, a gift from france by a french sculptor. and towns andrs universities and colleges all over the country with french names. we do not pronounce the way they do. they influence of france of this country is far greater than most americans appreciate. >> read interview with david mccullough along with other storytellers from 25 years of our book notes and q&a conversations in "sundays at nowt" that is available at your favorite bookseller. >> veteran foreign correspondent charles sennott reflects on the political movement known as the arab spring. he reported on the rise of al qaeda in the 1990's and

director mel watt arguing fannie and freddie need to remain in the housing markets to make sure thatlient. and zandi, that would worry you if we immediately pulled the plug. >> that's completely dead in the water. so it would make no sense at this water. it would make into sense at this point. it was still at 90%. >> now it is 55-60% fha's and others. >> between the three of them. it is probably now 75. so then the banks make up the rest of it. let's get down to the new york sto stock exchange. we have had so much time. what do make of that? >> i think you talked about a couple of thing that is are worrisome. the nfl package goes up. a lot of the tech knowledges that i know who were asked about satellite tv said listen this doesn't work in many of the ways that cable does. look, it better be latin america. i don't want to have big exposure. this seems like you know what? we have to do a deal. and i wish there was more to it. >> will pfizer just go away do you think? it looks like this is the end. as tra seneca i feel like someone has insider information. seeing that thing goes down m

our guest is weak on the newsmakers program, mel watt.e gives his first interview atce taking the position fannie mae and freddie mac. here is some of that conversation. >> there are a bunch of things i didn't talk about. i still have my little sheet. that is list of things very long, that we are working on. housing trust fund is one of those things. return to have to make a decision about that. and we will. will make it, we will articulate the reasons that we go one way or the other. decision in every the first 120 days. there are multiple things that fall in that category. housing trust fund is one of those. we will get to it. >> what are some of the other issues that you're hoping to tackle soon? the want to show show -- toou want to hare your list with us? >> no. i can't share that information with the press. anywhere.n the speech not directly, at least. we didn't talk about housing trust fund. we didn't talk about the stress test. leadd all of that in the to this piece. i said there are a bunch of things we have been working on. abou

we think given what mel watt said he will do with fannie and freddie the housing market will get easiero see if you see those rates you're going to see a spur of housing both buying, selling and building. so that would be one positive. i think it would say a sour note about the economy and i think the economy is fine. i really do. >> i think the economy is fine as well. but could it be more fine, is it on a relative basis going to be adversely affected by those less fine. when i look towards europe the 2012 draghi comment about the ba zu ka and doing anything he can did get him a lot of mileage. do you think they're going to be able to deliver if the markets start to get fin na ki about the microphone and want to see action, do you see them delivering? >> i really don't, rick. i mean i think this quantitative easing thing is more of draghi's moral situation. >> smoke and mirrors. >> i don't see him doing much. where they need the helpers in the small business, they don't need help with lower rates. look at your rates in spain, italy, portugal and throughout europe. they don't need lower

. >> you can watch more of fhfa tomorrow mel watt on makers". >> you can now take c-span with you wherever you go with our c-span radio app for your smart gone or tablet. c-span tv ll three hannels or c-span radio any time. you can play podcasts of any of our recent shows. take c-span with you wherever you go. download your free app online or o your iphone, android, or blackberry. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captions performed by national captioning institute] >> on thursday the president and mrs. obama took part in a memorial in new york city. also