WASHINGTON, DC—Edward DeMarco, senior deputy director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and former acting director of the agency, has announced he is leaving the FHFA at the end of April. He has been assisting in the leadership transition following the swearing in of Mel Watt as head at the beginning of the year. DeMarco did not indicate what he would do next.

DeMarco has been a fixture at the FHFA and, more than occasionally, a focal point of ire in the housing finance community. At the same time he has been the darling of those on Capitol Hill that have been advocating for the GSEs' dismantlement. Ultimately, though, DeMarco's federal career at the FHFA, especially during these latter years, can be characterized by his determination to take the role of conservator of GSE assets very literally.

Even those in the multifamily community that agreed with his stance, though, would occasionally be taken aback by some of his tactics. For example, at the start of 2013, the FHFA blindsided the community with the late release of the agency's Conservatorship Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which revealed that there would be a 10% reduction target in business volume from 2012 levels.

Affordable housing and consumer advocates have been displeased with DeMarco on occasion and at one point a 2012 Change.org petition called for his removal, labeling him "the biggest obstacle to serious economic recovery. ... Regardless of expert advice to provide principal reduction to homeowners whose homes are underwater, DeMarco has personally blocked it."

DeMarco's views, though, have clearly gained currency. As he leaves the agency, a Congressional bill to revamp the GSEs is gaining currency in the multifamily community. Some of its elements appear to be based, at least in part, on proposals made by the FHFA under DeMarco's tenure.

That 2013 Conservatorship Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that so astounded the multifamily community also called for, among other things, the development of a new securitization infrastructure. "Our objective, as we stated last year, is for the platform to be able to function like a market utility, as opposed to rebuilding the proprietary infrastructures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," DeMarco said at the time.