Fannie and Freddie will no longer purchase loans that go into forbearance before delivery. They have, however, begun charging a 50-bps adverse market fee for essentially all refis.
But the stratagem comes with costs. According to FHFA estimates, Fannie and Freddie will face between $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion in additional charges due to the extension. That’s on top of the estimated $6 billion the two have already incurred.
Former MBA president David Stevens believes the adverse market fee has nothing to do with COVID-induced risk. “It’s about building up the capital of Fannie and Freddie,” he said.
When questioned about the steep fee the GSEs charge to buy early forbear-ance loans, the FHFA director turned the tables on the lawmakers: Why didn’t Congress pay for it in the CARES Act?
“Let’s be very clear,” Calabria said. “The CARES Act imposed unfunded costs on Fannie and Freddie,” adding that, by statute, the GSEs are required to recoup those costs via income.
Facing pressure from both sides of the aisle, FHFA Director Mark Calabria said if the GSEs had come into the current crisis with sufficient capital, the adverse market fee could have been delayed for a few years.
However, FHFA made it clear the agency is not cancelling the new fee, which it says is intended to help Fannie and Freddie defray the costs associated with COVID-19 relief. The agency says those actions have conservatively cost the enterprises $6 billion...