Many mortgage industry trade groups believe changing the mission of the Federal Home Loan Bank system is Congress’ responsibility rather than that of the FHFA.

Two of the new proposed rules are directed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The other three relate to the Federal Home Loan Banks.

The FHLBank of Chicago followed the FHLBank of San Francisco in accepting mortgage collateral that uses the new credit score model.

FHFA issued an RFI on how to simplify and improve the efficiency of the competitive application process for the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Programs.

The new Federal Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable and Sustainable Housing includes a who’s who of housing finance experts, equitable housing advocates and industry representatives.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, has called for a significant increase in the FHLBanks’ required contribution to affordable housing. She also urged FHFA to change the membership eligibility requirements to encourage more housing and community development activities.

Although FHLB borrowing declined in the first quarter, with lenders continuing to reduce outstanding advances, profits for the system as a whole were up 9.6% from the fourth quarter and 16.6% year to date. (Includes three data tables.)

Among the questions raised is should FHFA continue to focus on how much liquidity FHLBanks provide for housing and community development or are there other components to FHLBank operations that deserve more attention.

FHFA and the Mortgage Bankers Association have asked legislators to exempt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from new laws governing the use of automated underwriting systems and other artificial intelligence tools.

A new rule from FHFA has enshrined fair lending requirements of the GSEs, including the treatment of their equitable housing finance plans.