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
What Happened? On June 20, 2024, a group of federal regulators published a rule addressing for the use of automated valuation models (AVMs) in mortgage origination and secondary market transactions....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 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
The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency, specifically focusing on:...more
On Thursday, Feb. 23, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a proposed rule to amend the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF) for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). FHFA indicated that the...more
The federal government is substantially ramping up its enforcement of COVID-19-related fraud. In a press release issued yesterday, the United States Secret Service announced the naming of a “National Pandemic Fraud Recovery...more
On April 21, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend certain loan origination flexibilities, including alternative appraisals on purchase and rate-term refinance...more
On February 10, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend several loan origination flexibilities until March 31, 2021, including (1) alternative appraisals on purchase and rate term refinance loans; (2) alternative methods for...more
On January 13, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it will extend several loan origination flexibilities until February 28, 2021, that were set to expire on January 31, 2021. The extended flexibilities...more
On November 13, the FHFA announced that it will extend several loan origination flexibilities until December 31 that were set to expire on November 30. The extended flexibilities include alternative appraisals on purchase and...more
A&B Abstract: The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) proposed regulatory prudential standards (the “Standards”) to develop a consistent regulatory structure of nonbank mortgage servicers. Comments on all aspects...more
On October 21, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) extended a policy allowing certain single-family mortgages in forbearance to be delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for borrowers who sought payment forbearance due...more
A&B ABstract: The Federal Housing Finance Agency has expanded the number of languages for which it provides translated documents as part of its Mortgage Translations clearinghouse....more
In the News. On the heels of a lawsuit challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) recently issued Madden fix/valid when made rule, eight state attorneys general filed suit challenging a similar rule...more
On July 9, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that several loan origination flexibilities originally set to expire on July 31 will be extended through August 31. ...more
Our Finance Group explains how a new Federal Housing Finance Agency policy brings clarity for mortgage servicers’ liquidity needs and provides a cap on servicer advancing obligations during the coronavirus pandemic....more
The years since the 2007–2008 financial crisis have been marked with milestone settlements of claims against the major mortgage “aggregators” (sometimes also known as “investors” in the mortgage purchasing context), who then...more
Background of FHFA and the Scorecard - The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. FHFA has regulatory oversight of the Federal National Mortgage...more
On November 28, 2017, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA“) announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum...more
Agencies Issue Proposal on Method to Adjust Threshold for Exempting Small Loans from Special Appraisal Requirements - On July 22, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has updated the industry on its progress in making changes to the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA). FHFA restated that their goal has been to finalize the new URLA by the...more
On August 24, President Obama directed the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to allow homeowners to purchase and refinance properties with Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans when those loans are subordinated to an...more
FHFA Updates Requirements for Freddie and Fannie Sales of Non-Performing Loans - On March 2, FHFA announced changes to requirements for sales of non-performing loans (NPLs) by Freddie and Fannie to reduce the number of...more