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hen former North Carolina Rep. Mel Watt first stepped
into the role of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
director to oversee housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac, he brought what is arguably the best last name for his
new job: Watt.
By definition, the word "watt" means a unit
of energy, or a derived unit of power.
For long-time observers of housing, this is
a fitting description for the FHFA's new leader
since power—or fear of a single agency having
too much of it—is one inescapable concern
FHFA leaders like Watt and his predecessor, Ed
DeMarco, have had to tiptoe around since the
agency's inception back in 2008.
DeMarco served as the agency's first acting
director from the FHFA's inception through
2013, creating a reputation that drew both
praise and criticism for his focus on protecting
taxpayers and avoiding initiatives that swayed
FHFA from this specific mandate. Heading into
the Watt-era in 2014, housing analysts expected
Watt's positions to quickly redefine everything
from how quickly the GSEs vanish to how
future mortgage securities are underwritten and
how aggressive the housing giants will become
in providing future liquidity to the home finance
market.
But for all the changes Watt promised, his
career at the FHFA came with a slow start out
of the gate.
Watt stepped into the FHFA director role in
December 2013, commanding the type of media
scrutiny often reserved for lightning-rod change
agents. Despite the stereotype preceding him,
Watt spent his first five months on the job with
a somewhat muffled voice, as he kept his plans
for the GSEs tightly under wraps.
C O V E R S T O R Y / K E R R I P A N C H U K
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As the new FHFA director begins to emerge from the
shadows, many wonder how he will lead FHFA.
Mel Watt Man of Mystery
