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Berger, Calabria discuss CU relief efforts, housing finance reform
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger spoke with Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Dr. Mark Calabria Wednesday about a number of industry issues, including credit union lending trends and ongoing housing finance reform efforts. NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt and Director of Regulatory Affairs Ann Kossachev also joined the discussion.
Relatedly, the FHFA Wednesday announced that the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – will further extend several loan origination flexibilities until March 31 to ensure continued support for borrowers amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. View the full release. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have pages devoted to coronavirus resources and guidance available online.
During Tuesday's meeting, Berger highlighted that credit unions entered the pandemic in a strong position and have been working to help members who have been financially impacted and urged the agency to continue extending its pandemic relief policies in effort to help lenders and borrowers.
Berger and Calabria also discussed recent administrative efforts related to housing finance reform and NAFCU's efforts to ensure credit unions' concerns are addressed as the GSEs rebuild capital and move toward the end of their conservatorship. Earlier this year, the FHFA and Treasury Department announced amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements, allowing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to retain earnings until they meet capital rule requirements.
The FHFA also released a final rule to establish capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last November, marking an additional step toward removing the GSEs from conservatorship. Under the rule, the GSEs are required to hold total capital not less than 8 percent of their risk-weight assets, which amounts to roughly $280 billion in capital against their combined $6.6 trillion in assets.
NAFCU is a leader in fighting for housing finance reform that ensures credit unions' unfettered access to the secondary mortgage market and other protections for the industry and the association will continue working with the FHFA on policies that support borrowers and community institutions. For more on the association's position, access its whitepaper highlighting the credit union perspective.
Of note, NAFCU is continuing to monitor the FHFA's ongoing look into whether the agency’s existing regulations ensure the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system remains “safe and sound” as part of a review of FHLB membership.
In response to the agency's request for information (RFI), NAFCU previously voiced concerns of member credit unions that rely on the FHLBs for liquidity purposes to fully serve the mortgage and community development needs of their membership. The association also called on the FHFA to support revisions to the FHLB Act to include credit unions in the definition of a community financial institution.