Clinton’s National Homeownership Strategy Part Deux: The Obama Edition

President Clinton was a busy man during his terms in office. First, he signed into law the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. Then he signed into law the Gramm – Leach – Bliley Act of 1999 which eradicated key provisions of the Great Depression-era Glass Steagall Act of 1933. But in between those pieces of legislation, the Clinton Administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created the National Homeownership Strategy: Partners in the American Dream. This blueprint encouraged lenders and their government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to weaken lending standards and streamline underwriting to encourage greater homeownership, particularly among the underserved population.
Did the accumulation of Reigle-Neal, the Clinton National Homeownership Strategy (NHS) and Gramm-Leach-Bliley work? Residential mortgage lending increased by 5.1% YoY in Q4 1995 and rose to a peak of 14.42% YoY in Q1 2006. Homeownership increased from 65.1% to 69.2% over the same time frame.

This post was published at Wall Street Examiner by Anthony B. Sanders ‘ April 4, 2016.