On June 6, 2024 federal regulators published a final rule addressing Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models. This was a collaborative rulemaking effort that included regulators from the Office of the...more
Stemming from the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) 2019 validation and approval of credit score models final rule, the FHFA announced in October 2022 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored...more
Recently, the FHFA issued a request for input (RFI) on a single-family pricing framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs), including feedback on policy priorities and goals that FHFA should pursue in its oversight of the...more
On January 12, FHFA released an advisory bulletin communicating supervisory expectations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) related to the valuation of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) for managing counterparty...more
As part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to address the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American families, on February 16, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Department of Veterans Affairs,...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on August 27 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) will extend their moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until at least December 31, 2020. The foreclosure...more
In recent weeks, the US federal housing agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that insure, guarantee, or purchase “federally backed mortgage loans” covered by Section 4022 of the CARES Act (Act) have continued...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on June 17 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) are once again extending their moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until at least August 31, 2020. ...more
In a prior alert, we reported that in view of the ability of mortgage loan borrowers to obtain payment forbearances under the CARES Act, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) limited the advance obligation of Fannie Mae...more
On May 13, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both announced a new COVID-19 Payment Deferral workout option. Fannie Mae's Lender Letter LL-2020-07 and Freddie Mac's Bulletin 2020-15 provide detailed requirements on this new deferral...more
On May 19, 2020, Fannie Mae in an update to Lender Letter 2020-03 and Freddie Mac in Bulletin 2020-17 announced temporary eligibility requirements for new purchase and refinance transactions involving borrowers affected by...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on May 14 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) are extending their moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until at least June 30, 2020. ...more
On May 14, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced an extension of its eviction and foreclosure moratorium due to the COVID-19 pandemic until June 30, 2020. This is an extension of FHFA's March 18 directive...more
Federal and state regulators and Congress continue to release new guidance and requirements to assist mortgage borrowers facing economic hardships resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ...more
A surge in repurchase claims against mortgage originators may be imminent as aggregators and servicers face nonpayment of debt obligations and liquidity shortfalls resulting from an increase in residential mortgage loans put...more
On April 22, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that it is allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”) to purchase loans that go into forbearance within the first month after closing. Previously, the GSEs...more
Monday saw U.S. oil prices take an unprecedented plunge into negative territory, as “concerns grew that storage tanks in the United States were near capacity and unable to hold all the unused code” (with the “bizarre movement...more
On April 21 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new policy for servicer obligations towards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance. Under the new policy, servicers are only required to advance four...more
What legislative activity can we expect in 2020 in the area of housing finance reform? With the Senate kicking off the New Year with an impeachment trial, it is highly unlikely Congress will make much headway on housing...more
On October 16, the SEC Division of Investment Management granted no-action relief in response to a request by Orrick on behalf of Redwood Trust. The Redwood request and the SEC staff response impact the way in which...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) has proposed new single-family and multifamily housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the “GSEs”) for 2018-2020....more
After years of litigation costing tens of millions of dollars, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has hit upon a way to expedite resolution of breach of representation and warranty claims that, if successful, could minimize...more
By recently releasing yet another revised representation and warranty framework, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their efforts to assuage the concerns of the lending industry that a default by a borrower poses an unfair...more
Early last week, recently-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Melvin L. Watt, announced plans to keep GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac going strong. This new strategy is in stark contrast to the...more