Fannie Mae is offering a new custodial bank account management application that impacts submissions of various forms to the GSE. Freddie Mac has adjusted the definitions of “change of control” and “senior management” at mortgage companies.
Until Fannie and Freddie are more transparent about the loan-level pricing adjustment grids for the new credit score, lenders and investors will remain cautious about its implementation.
If FHFA reduces the GSEs’ capital requirements, that would be a key signal that efforts are moving forward to end the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
FHFA argued that the award was an unjustified windfall for GSE shareholders, many of whom knew about the net worth sweep when they purchased the stock.
Industry watchers believe GSE reform is probably off the table until after the mid-term elections at least, as the administration’s focus has shifted to other priorities.
Fannie Mae belatedly joined Freddie Mac in establishing ground rules for seller/servicers that deploy or manage artificial intelligence or machine learning tools while doing business with the enterprise.
Fannie Mae extended duration by shifting from short- to long-term debt, but allowed overall debt to grow. Freddie de-levered by cutting short-term debt without adding to long-term debt.
Since 2016, when the duty-to-serve rule compelled the GSEs to make it easier to buy homes in rural census tracts, home prices have remained mostly stable and rents have declined.