Fair Lending Shake-Ups: CFPB Vacates Townstone Settlement, FHFA Ends GSEs' Special Purpose Credit Programs — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The Department of Housing and Development is seeking information about the impact that the frequent use of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products may have on borrowers’ ability to meet housing-related expenses, including rent or...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
On March 25, it was reported on social media that FHFA Director William Pulte signed an order terminating the Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) previously covered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The SPCPs provided...more
On March 14, the FHFA announced that Director William Pulte was sworn in as its fifth director in a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on March 14. Pulte was appointed by President Trump and will serve a five-year term...more
On November 26, the FHFA announced the conforming loan limit values for 2025, increasing the baseline limit. See here for a map of the conforming loan limit values. For one-unit properties, the new limit is $806,500 — a 5.2...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
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
What Happened? On June 20, 2024, a group of federal regulators published a rule addressing for the use of automated valuation models (AVMs) in mortgage origination and secondary market transactions....more
On April 22, the FHFA sent to the Federal Register a notice of a proposed new product from Freddie Mac to begin purchasing certain single-family closed-end second mortgages. According to the proposal, Freddie Mac would...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
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
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
On November 7, the FHFA released a report titled “FHLBank System at 100: Focusing on the Future,” providing a comprehensive overview of the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBank) system in its entirety. ...more
The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency, specifically focusing on:...more
A&B Abstract: On June 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with five federal regulatory agencies (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System...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
On April 5, FHFA announced updates to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (GSEs) equitable housing finance plans for 2023. The updates include adjustments to plans first announced last year, which faced pushback from several...more
On March 29, FHFA announced enhanced payment deferral policies for borrowers facing financial hardships. Under the newly enhanced policies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow borrowers to defer up to six months of mortgage...more
A&B Abstract: On January 30, 2023, President Biden informed Congress that the COVID-19 National Emergency (the “COVID Emergency”) will be extended beyond March 1, 2023, but that he anticipates terminating the national...more