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President Donald Trump suspended a premium cut on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration in his first executive order Friday. The premium cut was set to apply to most new mortgages with a closing/disbursement date on or after Jan. 27.

Bloomberg reported that a letter Friday from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to lenders and others in the real-estate industry said, "more analysis and research are deemed necessary to assess future adjustments while also considering potential market conditions in an ever-changing global economy that could impact our efforts."

Earlier this month, the FHA said it would reduce annual premiums for most borrowers 0.25 percent, a move that was projected to save new FHA-insured homeowners an average of $500 this year.

Republicans have argued in the past that reductions in the mortgage insurance premium put taxpayers at more risk by lowering the funds the FHA has to deal with mortgage defaults.

NAFCU has long recognized and supported FHA's important role in the housing finance market. The association strongly supports a reduction in the mortgage insurance premiums as it helps make mortgages more affordable to more consumers and further advance the housing recovery.

As discussions of housing finance reform resurface under this new administration, NAFCU urges the preservation of credit unions' equal access to the secondary mortgage market and fair pricing based on loan quality rather than volume.