WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator of government-controlled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae ( FNMA ) and Freddie Mac ( FMCC ) said on Sunday he would not oppose them having a smaller presence in the market but private capital had to be ready to take over first. Watt said last week, in his first public speech since taking office, that he did not want to shrink Fannie and Freddie's footprint, marking a sharp departure from his predecessor.Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said the two companies, which own or guarantee about 60 percent of all U.S. home loans, needed to remain in the housing finance market to make sure it was liquid and resilient. "It's not that I'm opposed to it and we will certainly allow it to happen," he told C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, when asked about the prospect of shrinking the lenders' activities. "But if the private sector is not ready to step into the space, and you shrink what Fannie and...
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