FHFA wants to boost mortgage access to low-income borrowers

The FHFA has released proposed new goals for the mortgage finance firms as part of agency director Mel Watt’s initiative to increase access to housing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says it wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide more support for low-income borrowers.

The FHFA has released proposed goals for the mortgage finance firms as part of agency director Mel Watt’s initiative to increase access to housing, according to a Reuters report.

Under the new goals, Freddie would expand the number of loans it backs for low-income multifamily housing from this year’s goal of 200,000 to 230,000 in 2017, Reuters reported. Fannie and Freddie would also continue to ensure that low-income families made up 23% of their purchases of single-family home mortgages.

The proposed goals also call for Fannie and Freddie to increase the share of their mortgage refinancing to low-income Americans and increase the share of purchases backing mortgages in low-income areas with large minority populations, Reuters reported.

The goals are sure to cause a stir in Congress. Many Republican legislators blame Fannie’s and Freddie’s policies expanding mortgage access to poor borrowers for helping kick-start the financial crisis.