Treasurer Wayne Swan ruled out the possibility of creating a government-backed mortgage lender to ease pressure on housing affordability.
In an interview with
Business Spectator, Swan said the federal government wouldn't be establishing a mortgage funding agency along the lines of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the US.
"We're not going down that road," Swan said.
"I don't believe it's the way to go. I've made a study of those bodies in the United States and they themselves have been beset with many difficulties over a period of time."
Two proposals for a form of government-sponsored funding agency are being promoted by some in the mortgage market, one (dubbed AussieMac) by Christopher Joye from niche funder Rismark and Joshua Gans from Melbourne Business School, and the second by the Australian Securitisation Forum.