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FHFA final rule amends stress testing requirements
On March 24, the FHFA published a final rule amending its stress testing requirements consistent with changes made by section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The final rule adopts amendments proposed last December (covered by InfoBytes here) without change, increasing the minimum threshold for FHFA-regulated entities to conduct stress tests from $10 billion to $250 billion in total consolidated assets, removing the requirements for Federal Home Loan Banks to conduct stress tests, and reducing the number of stress test scenarios from three to two by removing the “adverse” scenario. The final rule took effect March 24.
Fannie, Freddie develop payment deferral program
On March 25, Fannie Mae announced the release of a new payment deferral program developed with Freddie Mac at the direction of the FHFA. Fannie Mae issued Lender Letter LL-2020-05 and Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2020-6 to introduce the new workout option which “enables servicers to assist eligible borrowers who have resolved a temporary hardship and resumed their monthly contractual payments but cannot afford either a full reinstatement or repayment plan to bring the loan current.” The lender letter and the bulletin cover, among other things: (i) criteria necessary to be eligible for a payment deferral; (ii) terms of payment deferral; (iii) steps to complete a payment deferral; (iv) applicable fees; (v) reimbursement for expenses; and (iv) servicer incentive fees. Servicers may begin to evaluate borrowers for the deferral payment program on July 1, but no later than January 1, 2021.
FHFA directs Fannie and Freddie to suspend foreclosures and evictions due to Covid-19
On March 18, the FHFA announced that it has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days due to the Covid-19 national emergency. The foreclosure and eviction suspension applies to homeowners with an Enterprise-backed single-family mortgage.
Mortgage sellers, servicers reminded of relief options for borrowers impacted by Covid-19
On March 10, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria released a statement reminding mortgage servicers that borrowers impacted by Covid-19 and experiencing payment hardship would be eligible for hardship forbearance options set forth in the relevant Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicing guidelines. Calabria directed sellers and servicers to guidance issued the same day by Freddie Mac, which also reminds sellers and servicers that business continuity plans must be in place in order to conduct business operations in the event of an interruption. Fannie Mae has provided similar guidance to its seller/servicers.
Separately, on March 9, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued a notice to all FHA-approved mortgagees and servicers reminding entities of loss mitigation program options that should be offered to distressed borrowers, including those impacted by Covid-19, to prevent foreclosures. These options, FHA noted, are available in the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, 4000.1 Section III.A.2.
FHFA, CFPB release new dataset from National Survey of Mortgage Originations
On February 20, the FHFA and the CFPB announced the release of a new loan-level dataset collected through the National Survey of Mortgage Originations (NSMO). Since 2014, every quarter the FHFA and the CFPB send the NSMO survey to borrowers who recently obtained a mortgage to gather feedback on their experiences, perceptions, and future expectations of the mortgage market. This is the second public use file release of the compiled NSMO data and includes an additional year of mortgage data (2017) as well as information through the third quarter of 2019. The NSMO is a component of the National Mortgage Database, which the FHFA and the CFPB launched in 2012 to help regulators better understand mortgage market trends. The NSMO supports policymaking and research efforts and fulfills the mortgage survey and mortgage market monitoring requirements of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and the Dodd-Frank Act.
Fannie, Freddie to drop LIBOR in favor of SOFR
On February 5, the FHFA announced updated LIBOR transition plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) single-family and multi-family mortgage sellers and lenders, providing the next steps in the transition from LIBOR to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) instruments. The next steps include (i) a “[n]ew language require[ment] for single-family Uniform…ARM instruments closed on or after June 1, 2020”; (ii) a requirement that “[a]ll LIBOR-based single-family and multifamily ARMs…loan application dates [must be] on or before September 30, 2020 to be eligible for acquisition”; and (iii) that “[a]cquisitions of single-family and multifamily LIBOR ARMs will cease on or before December 31, 2020.” The announcement links to information directly from the two GSEs: Fannie Mae Multifamily Mortgage Business Lender Letter 20-02, and Fannie Mae Single-Family Sellers Lender Letter LL-2020-01; and Freddie Mac Selling Updates Bulletin 2020-1 and Freddie Mac Multifamily Update on LIBOR Transition. The FHFA LIBOR Transition page notes that the GSEs have already stopped buying ARMs based on LIBOR that mature after 2021 in preparation for the termination of the benchmark’s use.
FHFA updates Fannie, Freddie seller/servicer eligibility
On January 31, the FHFA proposed updated minimum financial requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) single-family mortgage sellers and servicers. The updates are designed to provide transparency and consistency of capital and liquidity requirements for sellers and servicers with different business models. A key improvement to the 2015 minimum financial requirements (covered by InfoBytes here), FHFA stated, is that the updated standards will establish financial requirements for servicing Ginnie Mae mortgages. FHFA further noted that the new minimum liquidity standards will only be applied to non-depository institutions—depository institutions will continue to rely on their existing regulatory standards to meet the GSEs’ capital and liquidity requirements. FHFA will accept comments on the proposal for 60 days, and anticipates finalizing the requirements in the second quarter of 2020, with an expected effective date six months after finalization.
FHFA raises annual CFI cap
On January 22, the Federal Housing Finance Agency published its annual adjustment to the cap on average total assets used to determine whether a Federal Home Loan Bank member qualifies as a community financial institution (CFI). The new cap is $1,224,000,000. Under the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, insured depository institutions that qualify as a CFI receive certain advantages in qualifying for bank membership and the ability to receive and collateralize long-term advances. The adjustment took effect January 1.
FHFA seeks comments on PACE loans
On January 16, the FHFA issued a notice requesting public comment on prospective policy changes to its residential energy retrofitting programs, or Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. According to the request for comment, PACE programs are “financed through special state legislation enabling a ‘super-priority lien’ over existing and subsequent first mortgages.” Because the loans are only recorded in tax rolls and not in land records, they do not show up in title searches. This may potentially cause problems for prospective buyers and mortgage lenders. Additionally, the programs are not uniform across states and the GSEs cannot buy properties encumbered by PACE loans.
Comments must be received by March 16.
Representatives urge financial regulators to strengthen cyber infrastructures
On January 7, Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) and Gregory Meeks D-NY) sent a letter to nine federal financial regulators urging them to strengthen their financial infrastructures against possible cyber-attacks in the wake of recent threats against the U.S. from Iran and its allies following the killing of Iranian official Qasem Soleimani. The letter also requests that the regulators coordinate with law enforcement and regulated entities to increase information sharing surrounding cyber threats, and “communicate a strategy to further mitigate existing cyber vulnerabilities within [the U.S.] financial infrastructure by March.” The letter was sent to the Federal Reserve Board, Treasury Department, SEC, FDIC, CFPB, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, National Credit Union Administration, and the OCC.
As previously covered by InfoBytes, NYDFS separately issued an Industry Letter on January 4 warning regulated entities about the “heightened risk” of cyber-attacks by hackers affiliated with the Iranian government. The letter provides recommendations for ensuring quick responses to any suspected cyber incidents, and reminds entities they must inform NYDFS “as promptly as possible but in no event later than 72 hours’ after a material cybersecurity event.”