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
Fannie Mae published its Preferred Equity Guide Update (25-06) and its Preferred Equity Checklist (Form 6441) in mid-April. Although unpublished iterations have been circulating for the past two years, lenders and law firms...more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
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week....more
The blacklisting of condominium/condo associations by financial institutions and insurance providers has emerged as a pressing issue in the real estate finance and housing sector. This practice, which involves lenders or...more
The Mortgage Bankers Association hosted its annual Commercial Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo (CREF) in San Diego last week, bringing together industry leaders, experts and professionals. Members of the Krooth &...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 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
As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with single-family residential mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Fannie Mae and Freddie...more
On June 20, FHFA conditionally approved a limited pilot program for Freddie Mac to begin purchasing certain single-family closed-end second mortgages. This decision came after implementing a new approval process for products...more
On April 12, the FHFA announced plans to test a pilot program that would permit lenders to forego a lender’s title insurance policy or an attorney opinion letter for some refinance loans sold to Fannie Mae, aiming to lower...more
What Happened? On March 13, 2024, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement (SVC-2024-02) (the “Announcement”), which announced, among other things, updates to Fannie Mae’s Loan Modification Agreement (Form 3179), with...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a press release announcing a 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan. The Equity Action Plan is part of HUD’s efforts to implement President Biden’s...more
On January 3, Fannie Mae updated its mortgage loan underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter (DU), to support changes made to FHA and VA loan limits. The update will take place during the weekend of January 20. ...more
On December 20, Fannie Mae issued SVC-2023-06, announcing updates made to its Servicing Guide. The updates include new financial reporting requirements requiring large non-depository sellers/servicers to submit a Mortgage...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2024 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made...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 2024. Fannie Mae addresses the limits in Lender Letter 2023-09....more
Fannie Mae recently launched a new Sponsor-Dedicated Workforce (SDW) Housing product aimed at mitigating the shortage of affordable housing available for middle-income renters. Fannie Mae’s goal of introducing the SDW product...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced in Mortgagee Letter 2023.13 that lenders must use the Supplemental Consumer Information Form (SCIF) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in connection...more
Stemming from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) 2019 validation and approval of credit score models final rule, the FHFA announced in October 2022 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored...more
Recently, the FHFA issued a request for input (RFI) on a single-family pricing framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs), including feedback on policy priorities and goals that FHFA should pursue in its oversight of the...more
On May 10, FHFA announced it is rescinding a debt-to-income-based loan-level pricing adjustment announced in January. As previously covered by InfoBytes, FHFA made several changes relating to upfront fees for certain...more