FHFA’s Calabria writes to CUNA, leagues on refinance fee

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria responded to letters from CUNA and all 35 state Leagues expressing concerns over the proposed GSE refinance fee. CUNA wrote to the agency August 14 and followed up with the letter from CUNA and the Leagues Aug. 25. Soon after, the FHFA announced the fee implementation would be delayed by three months to Dec. 1.

FHFA has also exempted from the fee refinance loans with loan balances below $125,000, nearly half of which are comprised of lower income borrowers at or below 80% of area median income.

Calabria wrote in his letter that the fee is necessary to cover projected losses of at least $6 billion at the GSEs due to the pandemic.

According to Calabria, these losses include:

 

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