Affordable housing gets top of the bill in new FHFA scorecard

The new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) GSE scorecard, released this week,  gave top billing to the mission to increase “equitable access to affordable and sustainable housing”.

The GSEs are enjoined to “take significant actions” to make sure all borrowers and renters have access to housing, including “efforts that further energy efficiency, resiliency and cost savings.”

The dangers of climate risk also crop up under the heading of making sure the business is operated in a safe and sound manner. The GSEs must “ensure that the Enterprise is resilient to operational, market, credit, counterparty, economic and climate risks,” says the FHFA.

Credit risk transfer is mentioned only once. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be assessed according to their ability to meet expectations under all FHFA requirements “including those pertaining to capital, liquidity and credit risk transfer.”

At the beginning of December, Fannie Mae announced changes to its underwriting process that make it easier for borrowers without a traditional credit score to qualify for a home loan. This reflects the pressure the GSEs are under to fulfill the FHFA’s affordable housing mandate.

Simon Boughey