Author: Andrea Nesby Archive

The recent Supreme Court ruling to overturn the CDC’s eviction moratorium makes it all the more important to disburse the funds that have been allocated to communities to provide rent assistance to qualified renters and landlords. For over a year, many apartment owners have covered the expenses and lost rent for renters unable to pay due to the pandemic. Most are small “mom and pop” landlords who depend on rental income to get by. State and local governments must do whatever is necessary to move this historic amount of support or return funds for reallocation to grantees who are successfully getting the money out.

FHFA’s new housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are an important step towards increasing liquidity of the affordable housing mortgage market. They will significantly improve the impact Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have on home mortgage lenders’ ability to increase homeownership opportunities to historically underserved communities. They are also well within historic risk levels to ensure the Enterprises operate safely and soundly while protecting homebuyers from taking irresponsible risks.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement that Fannie Mae will consider rental payment history in mortgage approval decisions is a significant innovation and a major step forward in expanding homeownership opportunities. In addition to expanding the pool of qualified borrowers, it enhances the safety of the mortgages by fully considering the most relevant predictor of mortgage risk: housing payment history.

We commend the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu for agreeing to rescind the OCC’s final rule on the Community Reinvestment Act, originally issued in May 2020.