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
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
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
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 The agency rescinded a 2024 advisory...more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
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 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 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
Welcome to the latest edition of the Spectrum, covering hot-topic issues in the structured finance markets in the U.S. and UK. This edition features the new UK securitization regime, eHELOCs, and climate risk disclosures....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 June 14, the FHFA released its annual report to Congress, as required under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, detailing FHFA’s activities and the state of the housing finance industry in 2023. The report...more
Recently, the FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will update their Flex Modification policies to help struggling borrowers reduce their mortgage payments. Flex Modification would be for eligible borrowers...more
On May 1, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new policies that will allow borrowers to challenge property appraisals they believe to be inaccurate or biased....more
On April 18, Sandra L. Thompson, Director of the FHFA, addressed the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, emphasizing FHFA’s role in promoting access to affordable housing for homebuyers and renters...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 March 12, the FHFA published a final rule in the Federal Register titled “Exception to Restrictions on Private Transfer Fee Covenants (PFTCs) for Loans Meeting Certain Duty to Serve Shared Equity Loan Program...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 published another FHFA Insights blog post addressing the underutilization of appraisal time adjustments by appraisers that is a companion to an FHFA Insights blog post that...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently published a FHFA Insights blog post that cites the underutilization of appraisal time adjustments by appraisers....more
On November 15, FHFA released its annual performance report, titled “FHFA FY 2023 Performance and Accountability Report” to detail how it regulated the FHLBank system, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, during the past...more
On November 28, FHFA announced that it will raise the maximum conforming loan limits (CLL) for mortgages purchased in 2024 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $726,200 to $776,550 for most of the United States....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