Regulators Clear GSE Capital Rule.(Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight; government sponsored enterprises)(Brief Article)

A federal supervisory agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has finally earned its stripes by getting a "state-of-the-art" capital standard past its final regulatory hurdle.

It has taken the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight eight years to complete the risk-based rule, along with its sophisticated stress tests and computer model.

And the little agency suffered criticism for taking so long.

But last month the Office of Management and Budget cleared the way for OFHEO to publish the final capital rule, despite efforts by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to delay its release.

OFHEO director Armando Falcon Jr. was clearly elated that the White House budget office stood by his agency in the face of two enterprises' lobbying efforts.

"I appreciate the very thoughtful and diligent review undertaken by OMB. OFHEO will now have in place the final component of our effective and efficient regulatory program," director Falcon said.

Despite the achievement, the final rule does not go into effect until one year after it is published in the Federal Register.