Fair Lending Shake-Ups: CFPB Vacates Townstone Settlement, FHFA Ends GSEs' Special Purpose Credit Programs — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Weekly Brief: BoA Sued; SCOTUS Shortlists; Fund Fights Argentina
What Happened? On July 8, 2025, U.S. Federal Housing Agency (FHFA) announced that lenders will soon be able to use the VantageScore® 4.0 credit model or Classic FICO® via the tri-merge credit report requirement when they...more
As I read through my last commentary on the future of the GSEs and fielded some comments from readers, I realized I glossed over hard questions about how the governmental backstop would work, sort of like envisioning a plane...more
On August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a shareholder suit brought by two stockholders. The two plaintiff stockholders held interests in both Fannie Mae and...more
The FHFA has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for consideration of cryptocurrency as an asset for reserves in their single-family risk assessments, without a conversion to dollars....more
I am joining the hordes occupying the chatter-sphere to opine about what the GSEs should look like, post conservatorship. Having reviewed loads of opinions about the future of the Twins, I’m pretty sure the bar on looking...more
On June 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for treating cryptocurrency held on U.S.-regulated exchanges as assets for reserves in...more
What Happened? On June 26, Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) Director William Pulte told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “government sponsored entities”) to draft policies that would consider a borrower’s cryptocurrency...more
Fannie Mae (1938) and Freddie Mac (1970) were created with the end goal of promoting homeownership across the United States. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both government-sponsored entities (“GSEs”), are publicly traded and...more
On April 16, three senators urged the FHFA Inspector General to investigate the agency’s purported noncompliance with federal laws and regulations concerning corporate governance at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Jack Reed...more
Mr. Pulte is now the great poohbah of Fannie and Freddie supervising the Twins from his seat at FHFA and also now acting as chair of their respective boards. What is he going to do (assuming he has any agency here)?...more
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Troutman Pepper Locke colleagues Lori Sommerfield and Lane Page to dissect two unexpected fair lending developments under the new Trump...more
In recent days, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has made it clear that he believes fraud is a rampant problem at FHFA. In a stream of related activities, Pulte has called on the public to report...more
On April 15, ten U.S. Senators sent a letter addressed to Mr. Brian M. Tomney, Inspector General of the FHFA, requesting that the FHFA OIG review recent actions taken by FHFA leadership to overhaul the boards at Fannie Mae...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken two significant deregulatory steps affecting its oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs). The agency rescinded a 2024 advisory...more
In a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order on March 25, 2025 terminating special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) supported...more
On March 4, the FHFA ordered both government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to submit stress testing results based on their financial positions as of December 31, 2024, following scenarios issued by the...more
What Happened? On November 29, 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) released Advisory Bulletin AB 2024-06 (the “Advisory Bulletin”), which sets forth FHFA’s expectations and guidance for Fannie Mae and Freddie...more
On November 29, the FHFA issued Advisory Bulletin 2024-06: “Regulated Entity Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices Compliance” to provide guidance to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHLBanks on adhering to UDAP prohibitions...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the conforming loan limits for residential mortgage loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025. Fannie Mae addresses the limits in Lender Letter...more
On November 18, the FHFA set the 2025 multifamily loan purchase caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at $73 billion each, totaling $146 billion for the year in multifamily market support. According to the FHFA Director, the...more
On November 7, the FHFA announced partnerships with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to boost programs that expand housing access for tribal communities. The collaboration involved the FHLBank of Des Moines promoting Freddie...more
On October 28, FHFA and HUD jointly, and for the first time, released new appraisal data from single-family mortgage loan applications submitted to HUD’s sector under the FHA. The update expanded the scope of the FHFA’s...more
On October 9, FHFA introduced a new Manufactured House Price Index to provide quarterly data on price trends for manufactured homes, a market segment which it noted is an affordable option for homebuyers. The new data series...more
On September 18, the FHFA issued a second proposed rule to amend its Suspended Counterparty Program (SCP) regulation, following a review of comments on the initial proposal (covered by InfoBytes here). The SCP requires...more
On August 22, FHFA released a proposed rule on its housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) for 2025-2027 as required by the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. FHFA is...more