The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s long-awaited final piece to the representation-and- warranties framework is complete with the addition of an independent dispute-resolution process that serves as a last resort for disputed loans. A neutral third-party arbitrator will determine whether there was a violation in loan eligibility in the loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Talks of an alternative to solving the most difficult repurchase demands, outside of the standard procedures, began in 2014. The FHFA reiterated its point that the IDR process only comes into play after the appeal and escalation processes have been exhausted. The GSEs have said most lenders should be able to work with them to resolve buyback requests.