USMI submitted a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson to provide feedback on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on “Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models (AVMs).” As sophisticated long-term managers of single family mortgage credit risk, private MIs support a workable regulatory framework for mortgage market participants’ use of AVMs and policies that appropriately balance improvements and efficiencies in the collateral valuation process with the accurate assessment and pricing of risk. In the letter, USMI highlights the following factors to be considered: (1) principles-based approach to quality control frameworks; (2) application to the GSEs; (3) transparency in AVM data; and (4) nondiscrimination and fair lending. Click here to read the letter.

USMI joined a coalition of housing finance organizations including the American Bankers Association (ABA), Housing Policy Council (HPC), and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) in responding to one element of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on enhancements to the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF). The organizations raised concerns regarding the method of calculating a borrower’s representative credit score once the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) migrate to the bi-merge credit report requirements. The coalition recommends that loan-level GSE data from 1999 forward should be published sooner than 4Q 2023 to allow for the necessary analysis and impact assessment ahead of the proposed implementation in 1Q 2024. In addition, the organizations call for FHFA to work more closely with the industry to fully assess operational and regulatory compliance considerations for mortgage market participants, including for the notices and disclosures required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Click here to read the letter.