A group of civil rights organizations, mortgage lenders, and homebuilders on Monday wrote to Mel Watt, the director of the regulator of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac urging him to allow the companies to rebuild their capital. "We believe that ten years in conservatorship is quite enough," said the group, which included the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, the NAACP, the Leading Builders of America, and more. Under the terms of a 2012 amendment to the 2008 crisis-era legislation that enveloped Fannie and Freddie in government conservatorship, the two must sweep all their quarterly profits to Treasury. In December, Watt struck a deal with Treasury to allow both companies to retain some capital, but most industry participants believe it's not enough to shield the enterprises from a serious downturn. In January, Fannie said it would turn to Treasury for a bailout when changes to the tax laws caused it to write down assets on its balance sheet. Watt, in turn, has deferred to Congress' lead in enacting more comprehensive housing market reforms, which it has failed to do.