Summary#
This bill would block specific changes to how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set some mortgage credit fees. It says the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the two enterprises may not put into effect the single-family pricing changes announced on January 19, 2023, and that those documents have no force or effect. The bill also says the enterprises may continue to use risk-based pricing generally.
- Main change: Cancels the January 19, 2023 updates to the enterprises’ single-family mortgage credit-fee pricing framework and voids the related Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidance documents.
- Who is affected: FHFA, Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association), Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), mortgage lenders, and borrowers of single-family mortgages.
- Keeps allowed: The enterprises are still allowed to charge credit fees based on borrower risk (risk-based pricing).
- What is unclear: The bill does not describe the content of the January 19, 2023 changes, so the practical differences depend on what those specific changes would have done.
What it means for you#
- Borrowers: This could mean no change from whatever credit-fee rules the enterprises used before January 19, 2023. If the cancelled changes would have altered borrower fees, those alterations would not take effect while the law applies.
- Homebuyers using loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac: Loan pricing tied to fees set by the enterprises would remain under the pre-2023 framework instead of following the cancelled updates.
- Mortgage lenders: Lenders that sell loans to the enterprises would continue operating under the enterprises’ prior pricing framework rather than the January 2023 updates.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The enterprises would be prohibited from implementing the referenced pricing changes and related lender guidance.
- FHFA (regulator): The agency would be barred from carrying out or enforcing the specific pricing updates announced on January 19, 2023.
- Taxpayers / broader housing market: Any broader effects on mortgage availability, fees, or market behavior depend on the content and intended effects of the cancelled changes, which the bill text does not spell out.
Expenses#
No publicly available information.
- The bill text and supplied materials do not include a fiscal note or budget estimate.
- This could affect fee revenue collected by the enterprises or administrative costs for FHFA and the enterprises, but the bill gives no estimate of those amounts.
- If the cancelled changes were intended to raise or lower fees, there could be corresponding effects on mortgage pricing or enterprise income; the bill does not provide numbers.
Proponents' View#
- The bill appears intended to stop the implementation of the enterprises’ January 19, 2023 single-family pricing changes.
- A possible argument for the bill is that it preserves the prior pricing framework for mortgage credit fees while allowing risk-based pricing generally.
- Supporters may see this as protecting borrowers from changes in fee structure that they do not want implemented (the bill title suggests borrower protection).
- The bill keeps the enterprises’ ability to use risk-based pricing, so it does not remove all fee flexibility.
Opponents' View#
- One concern is that the bill prevents FHFA and the enterprises from updating pricing rules, which could limit their ability to align fees with risk or market conditions.
- It is unclear how cancelling the January 2023 changes would affect mortgage costs, enterprise finances, or market functioning because the bill does not describe the cancelled changes.
- Another concern is potential administrative or legal confusion from voiding specific agency guidance without replacing it or explaining the intended long-term pricing approach.
- The bill provides no cost estimates, so it is uncertain whether cancelling the changes would raise costs for taxpayers, lenders, or borrowers.