美国财政部在悄悄撤出住房市场

    美国财政部周一宣布，将在未来一年左右时间内出售一大宗按揭担保债券，逐步结束危机时代出台的一项住宅市场融资计划。

    此举出现于目前美国房价再度走低之时——但这并非是由于贷款价高，事实上，30年标准类按揭贷款（conforming mortgage）的利率近日约为5%。此举事关美国政府对住宅市场的支持，即便是那些本身成功的举措，也由于美联储(Fed)政策目标不一致而使效果打了折扣，这一举措就是如此 。

    “我们将继续缩减2008-2009年出台的、旨在恢复市场稳定的应急方案，而出售相关证券符合这样的目标，”美国财政部负责金融市场的助理部长玛丽•米勒表示，“我们将逐步而有序地退出此类投资，最大程度地收回纳税人的钱，维护住房金融市场的修复过程。”

    根据这一计划，美国财政部每月将出售100亿美元的机构按揭担保证券。这些证券由房利美（Fannie Mae）和房地美（Freddie Mac）发行，当初募资是用于购入按揭贷款。

    美国政府根据《2008年住房和经济复苏法案》（Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008），从2008年底到2009年全年购入此类债券2,210亿美元。美国财政部是在政府接管房利美和房地美的当天，宣布计划购入这些债券的。

    “这个投资组合的主要目的将是促进市场稳定，确保按揭贷款的供应，和保护纳税人。”美国财政部在当日的一份声明中称。

    美国财政部称，该投资组合现已缩减至1,420亿美元。负责问题资产救助计划（Troubled Asset Relief Program，TARP）的美国国会监督小组（Congressional Oversight Panel）在上周发布的最终报告中指出，截至上月末，美国财政部根据TARP计划持有的证券已获本金偿付840亿美元，利息收入167亿美元。

    显然，美国政府对住宅市场的支持将很难以财政部出售按揭债券画上句号。美联储（Federal Reserve）目前仍持有1.14万亿美元的机构按揭债券，而且美国财政部向房利美和房地美累计投入的资金已达1,500亿美元，以消化泡沫时代的按揭担保损失。

    因此，美国政府退出住宅市场还有很长一段路要走。但令人欣喜的是我们看到美国财政部已挪动脚步，准备退场了。

    Treasury said Monday it will sell a big portfolio of mortgage-backed bonds over the next year or so, in a move to wind down a crisis-era program providing financing for residential housing.

    The move comes as house prices are once again headed lower -- though not because loans, recently around 5% for a 30-year conforming mortgage, are expensive. So it is with government support for housing: even programs that succeed on their own modest terms, as this one did, are tarred by the feds' failure to come up with a coherent policy objective.

    "We're continuing to wind down the emergency programs that were put in place in 2008 and 2009 to help restore market stability, and the sale of these securities is consistent with that effort," said Mary J. Miller, assistant secretary for financial markets. "We will exit this investment at a gradual and orderly pace to maximize the recovery of taxpayer dollars and help protect the process of repair of the housing finance market."

    Under the plan, Treasury will sell $10 billion a month of its stock of agency mortgage-backed securities. These are the bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise funds for the companies' purchases of mortgages.

    The government bought $221 billion of these bonds starting in late 2008 and running through 2009, under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Treasury announced its plan to buy the bonds the day the government took over Fannie and Freddie.

    "The primary objectives of this portfolio will be to promote market stability, ensure mortgage availability, and protect the taxpayer," Treasury said in its statement that day.

    The portfolio is now down to $142 billion, Treasury said. The Congressional Oversight Panel that oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in its final report last week that as of last month, Treasury had received $84 billion in principal repayments and $16.7 billion in interest payments on the securities it holds as part of the program.

    Obviously, government support for the housing market will hardly end with Treasury's sale of the mortgage bonds. The Federal Reserve continues to hold $1.14 trillion of agency mortgage bonds, and Treasury has put $150 billion and counting into Fannie and Freddie, mostly to soak up losses on bubble-era mortgage guarantees.

    So the government is a long way from getting out of the housing business. But it is still good to see Treasury shuffling toward the exit.