USMI President Seth Appleton authored an opinion piece in the Springfield News-Leader on the greatest challenges that future homebuyers face in his home state using data from USMI’s 2024 National Homeownership Survey. In the piece, he explains how thousands have been able to purchase with low down payment mortgages using private MI and calls for the renewal of a tax deduction that more than 14,000 Missourians claimed in 2021 before the deduction expired. “For 15 years, millions of homeowners relied on this deduction to offset some of the costs of homeownership. There aren’t that many no-brainers in Washington, D.C. This, however, is one of them,” said Appleton. Read the full piece here.
Category: Uncategorized
Letter: USMI Letter for the Record for the Committee on Ways and Means’ January 14th Hearing
USMI submitted a letter for the record for the House Committee on Ways and Means’ January 14, 2025 hearing titled “The Need to Make Permanent the Trump Tax Cuts for Working Families.” As the Committee on Ways & Means assesses the expiring and permanent provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), USMI strongly encourages Congress to support existing homeowners and prospective homebuyers by reinstating, making permanent, and expanding eligibility for the mortgage insurance (MI) premium tax deduction. USMI specifically urges Congress to include the bipartisan, bicameral Middle Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act in tax legislation considered in 2025 and commends Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), as well as their counterparts Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), for championing this common-sense and targeted tax policy to assist working families. Read the full letter here.
Letter: Joint Letter in Support of Scott Turner’s Nomination
Newsletter: December 2024
Newsletter: September 2024
Statement: FHFA’s Conditional Approval of Freddie Mac’s Purchase of Single-Family Closed-End Second Mortgages
Blog: Q&A with Lesley Alli, SVP Industry Relations and Corporate Communications, National MI
Blog: Q&A with Whitney Dodd, VP Public Policy, Radian
Statement: FHFA’s Announcement Regarding New Uniform Appraisal Dataset Appraisal-Level Public Use File
Statement: FHFA Announcement Regarding Credit Score Implementation and Timing
WASHINGTON — Seth Appleton, President of U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI), issued the following statement on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) announcement of the next phase of the public engagement process for the updated credit score requirements for loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises or GSEs):
“USMI applauds FHFA and Director Thompson’s responsiveness to concerns regarding the implementation of new credit score models and credit report requirements for mortgages acquired by the GSEs. The private mortgage insurance (MI) industry has served as an accessible route to homeownership for millions of home-ready borrowers over the past 66 years, and USMI’s members welcome robust engagement with FHFA, the GSEs, lenders, and other industry stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation that promotes efficient market operations, supports borrowers’ continued access to mortgage financing, and protects taxpayers from undue credit risk.
“USMI looks forward to participating in the forthcoming forums and listening sessions to collaborate with policymakers and stakeholders to address issues, challenges, and opportunities associated with the implementation of new credit score requirements. As part of the expanded public engagement process, USMI encourages FHFA to direct the GSEs to release loan-level data for Classic FICO, FICO 10T, and VantageScore 4.0 to allow for comprehensive analysis and work toward a smooth transition and achievable timeline that minimizes costs and complexity.”
In May, USMI submitted supplemental comments and recommendations to the GSEs’ Credit Score Industry Engagement Survey to work towards facilitating a smooth transition to new credit score requirements. Additionally, in late June, USMI joined a coalition of industry trade associations and consumer advocate groups in sending a letter to advocate for adjustments to the implementation plan that would increase transparency, stakeholder feedback, and industry analysis of data related to the adoption of the FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 credit score models, as well as the new bi-merge credit reporting policy by the GSEs.
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U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI) is dedicated to a housing finance system backed by private capital that enables access to housing finance for borrowers while protecting taxpayers. Mortgage insurance offers an effective way to make mortgage credit available to more people. USMI is ready to help build the future of homeownership. Learn more at www.usmi.org.
Newsletter: July 2023
Letter: Joint Letter to the FHFA on Credit Score Implementation
USMI joined a coalition of industry trade associations and consumer advocate groups in sending a joint trade letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in response to the agency’s March 23 announcement regarding the implementation plan for the adoption of the FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 credit score models, as well as the bi-merge credit reporting policy, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The coalition recommends that the credit score policy implementation plan should be adjusted to include a comprehensive, transparent, and iterative stakeholder engagement process, as well as robust data transparency, specifically including the release of long-term historical datasets for Classic FICO, FICO 10T, and VantageScore 4.0. The organizations also call for the FHFA to provide a recalibrated timeline that accommodates data analysis and modeling, as well as stakeholder feedback on the costs, complexity, consumer impact, and policy implications of the transition. Click here to read the letter.
The letter’s signatories include:
American Bankers Association, Center for Responsible Lending, Community Home Lenders of America, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Housing Policy Council, Independent Community Bankers of America, Leading Builders of America, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, National Association of Home Builders of the United States, National Association of REALTORS®, National Housing Conference, Reinsurance Association of America, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and Structured Finance Association.
