I led a panel today to brief Congressional staff on how the qualified residential mortgage (QRM) rule can align with the qualified mortgage (QM) rule to encourage safe mortgages that are accessible to borrowers of low and moderate income and also perform well for investors. Several other members of the Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy joined me:
- Ken Fears, Senior Economist and the Manager, Regional Economics and Mortgage Finance for the Research Division of the National Association of REALTORS
- Kenneth W. Edwards, Policy Counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending
- Michael Fratantoni, Vice President of Single-Family Research and Policy Development for the Mortgage Bankers Association
- Julia Gordon, Director of Housing Finance and Policy at the Center for American Progress
Those who have been following NHC’s work on the QRM won’t be surprised by the content of the presentation. QRM shouldn’t require high downpayments or restrictive debt-to-income ratios. Indeed, the best move for regulators would be to use the recently adopted QM rule as the standard for QRM.