Mortgage Writedowns, Tar Sands Loophole, SEC: Compliance

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t forgive principal on delinquent mortgages they guarantee even as the U.S. Treasury Department is offering incentive payments for writedowns, the companies’ regulator said.

Months of analysis showed there would be no clear benefit to taxpayers if the Federal Housing Finance Agency were to change its longstanding policy barring the government-owned mortgage-finance companies from loan modifications that include debt writedowns, Edward J. DeMarco, the agency’s acting director, said yesterday said at a briefing with reporters.