State bankers associations from every state sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria, urging him to rescind the “adverse market fee” on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage refinances. The fee is designed to protect Fannie and Freddie from risk associated with the pandemic. It charges 0.5 percent of the loan amount to the borrower who is refinancing, or roughly $1,400 on the typical mortgage in the United States. “The new fee, referred to as an “adverse market refinance fee,” will harm consumers in urban, rural, and suburban communities across the country,” the associations said in the letter. “Borrowers have been helped by the historically low interest rates, allowing them to refinance their loans into significantly lower…
A coalition of housing, banking and public interest groups on Thursday strongly condemned the Federal Housing Finance Agency for implementing an “adverse market fee” on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage refinances. The fee is designed to protect Fannie and Freddie from risk associated with the pandemic. It charges 0.5 percent of the loan amount to the borrower, or nearly $1,500 on the typical mortgage in the United States. The American Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and 17 other organizations called the fee an “ill-timed, misguided” surprise. “Wednesday night’s surprise announcement by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) conflicts with the Administration’s recent executive actions urging federal agencies to take all measures within their authority…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it is extending a policy that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase some single-family mortgages in forbearance in an attempt to support the liquidity of mortgage lenders during the coronavirus pandemic. Originally enacted in April, the policy is designed to protect borrowers seeking mortgage forbearance shortly after closing on loans – and before the lender could deliver the loan to Fannie or Freddie. Prior to the change, loans in forbearance were ineligible to be sold under Fannie and Freddie requirements, placing the borrower and the lender in jeopardy. “Extending the Enterprises’ ability to purchase these previously ineligible loans will help provide liquidity to mortgage markets. That said, to make homeownership sustainable, lenders…
The Federal Finance Housing Agency on Monday announced 2021 housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are identical to the mortgage purchase goals that were in place for the last three years. “Due to the economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19 national pandemic, FHFA is proposing benchmarks for calendar year 2021 only, and those levels will remain the same as they were for 2018-2020,” FHFA said in announcing the goals. Here are the single-family goals for 2021: GoalCurrent 2018-2020 benchmark Proposed 2021 benchmarkLow-Income Home Purchase Goal24 percent24 percentVery Low-Income Home Purchase Goal6 percent6 percentLow-Income Areas Home Purchase Subgoal14 percent14 percentLow-Income Refinancing Goal21 percent21 percent Here are the multi-family goals for 2021: GoalCurrent 2018-2020 benchmark Proposed 2021 benchmark Low-Income Goal315,000…
As the coronavirus pandemic drags into summer, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday that it is extending flexible loan origination policies for another month. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policies, which had been set to expire at the end of July, will be extended until the end of August. They include: Alternative appraisals on purchase and rate term refinance loans;Alternative methods for documenting income and verifying employment before loan closing; andExpanding the use of power of attorney and remote online notarizations to assist with loan closings.…
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria on Monday warned Congress that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a disproportionately large role in the housing market and are badly undercapitalized – creating significant risk to the nation’s economy. In a letter to the banking and housing chairs introducing FHFA’s annual report, Calabria urged Congress to give the agency greater authority to charter competitors to Fannie and Freddie and limit their relative power in the housing market. “A root cause of the 2008 financial crisis was imprudent mortgage credit risk backed by insufficient capital,” Calabria wrote to Congress. “This fundamental problem remains unresolved today. The Enterprises are inarguably undercapitalized for their size, risk, and systemic importance. Calabria said Fannie and Freddie…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday that it will not implement new financial eligibility requirements for mortgage lenders that service or sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The new requirements, announced Jan. 31, were to be implemented this month. “Due to recent market events, the Federal Housing Finance Agency … will be re-proposing the updated minimum financial eligibility requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers,” FHFA said in a statement. “FHFA has determined that it is prudent to work with the Enterprises to reassess and re-propose these requirements, including incorporating lessons learned from the evolving COVID-19 national emergency.” The revised requirements would have forced mortgage sellers and servicers to maintain a base net worth of $2.5…
Another month. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday that it is extending the loan origination flexibilities currently offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac designed to help borrowers during the COVID-19 national emergency. Originally put in place at the height of the pandemic, this is the second time they have been extended – this time through July 31. They include: Alternative appraisals on purchase and rate term refinance loans;Alternative methods for verifying employment before loan closing;Expanding the use of power of attorney and remote online notarizations to assist with loan closings; andAuthority to purchase mortgages in forbearance. …
By Jim Perskie Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria told Congress that forbearance rates in the United States are “manageable,” noting that the number of homeowners pausing mortgage payments has slowed considerably in recent weeks. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Tuesday, Calabria said that the number of mortgages in forbearance were significantly lower than some had predicted. “Early in the crisis, there were a wide variety of predictions about the future effects of COVID-19 on housing markets,” Calabria testified. “Some observers contended that forbearance rates would reach as high as 25 to 50 percent. Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the high degree of uncertainty about the economic…
By Jim Perskie Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria told Congress on Tuesday that he will submit legislative recommendations net week to strengthen the agency’s regulatory and supervisory authority “to fix structural flaws in our housing finance system.” Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Calabria also stressed FHFA had done significant work to support borrowers, renters and the housing market as a whole during the COVID-19 pandemic – but challenges lie ahead. “FHFA recognizes that more work remains,” Calabria said. “The crisis caused by COVID-19 is not over. The full economic and financial impact of the pandemic is not yet known. The future state of the labor market remains uncertain. The mortgage market is still…
