Photo By: R. Dione Foto

After holding the job as acting director since June, Sandra L. Thompson has been nominated to become the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s permanent director.

The White House announced on Tuesday that President Joe Biden planned to nominate Thompson for the role, prompting support from both industry trade groups and community organizations. The U.S. Senate must confirm Thompson’s nomination for a five-year term.

The FHFA is responsible for overseeing the mortgage finance market, including oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the federal home loan bank system.

Bob Broeksmit, Mortgage Bankers Association president and CEO, said in a statement that Thompson’s experience as a regulator and in real-estate finance “makes her the perfect choice to lead FHFA.”

“Since assuming the position of Acting Director in June, Thompson has addressed several topline issues, including reversing the adverse market refinance fee, calling for the continuation of pandemic-related flexibilities, enhancing the GSEs’ new refinance programs for low-income borrowers, and overseeing the GSEs’ mission of creating equitable and sustainable solutions for affordable housing and rental opportunities,” Broeksmit said. “We hope that this will be a quick confirmation process and look forward to continuing our work with Acting Director Thompson, FHFA, and the GSEs to ensure a stable and robust secondary mortgage market for a wide variety of single-family and multifamily lenders, regardless of size or business model.”

Thompson joined the FHFA in 2013 as deputy director of the division of housing mission and goals. She also spent more than 23 years at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., including as director of the division of risk management supervision.

Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, said the trade group looked forward to working with Thompson “to ensure a strong and robust housing market.”

“Thompson’s strong understanding of the primary and secondary mortgage markets, along with her extensive experience in financial regulatory issues at both the FHFA and FDIC, have served her well as acting director and would continue to do so in this critically important role,” Nichols said.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition also supported the nomination.

“As acting-director of the FHFA, Thompson has already taken important steps to renew commitment to the affordable housing mission of the GSEs, including a new goal focused exclusively on communities of color,” NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol said in a statement. “In her short time at FHFA, she has led the agency towards a more ambitious vision for a more equitable housing finance system that enables more Americans to buy homes and accumulate personal wealth.”