WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Housing Finance Agency has had its good years and its bad years regarding the release of its annual Scorecard -- what it calls the goals it sets for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for that year. Some years the FHFA has been very late in releasing the Scorecard, much to the chagrin of multifamily lenders that use it as a guide for their own activities. In other years, it comes out right on schedule.

Perhaps you blinked at some point on Monday; that would explain how you missed what the FHFA plans to include in its 2016 Scorecard. Essentially, it released the GSEs' target lending operations months before necessary.

Speaking at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in San Diego, Director Mel Watts told the crowd that the GSEs' cap would remain at $30 billion each -- in other words, where they are right now.

The FHFA also plans to add two new exclusions for the cap -- loans for low-income apartments in rural areas and loans for energy efficiency improvements that meet its eligibility criteria.

Next year's Scorecard will also maintain the broadened list of exclusions from the cap that the FHFA put in place earlier this year. It will, in other words, continue to exclude from the cap loans for affordable properties, including those in higher-cost areas, as well as certain loans for manufactured housing communities, seniors housing and small multifamily properties affordable to low-income tenants.

Finally, it plans to institute a quarterly review process to make adjustments along the way if necessary.

That is what happened this year when the GSEs originated more loans than anticipated. In response the FHFA broadened the categories of affordable multifamily lending excluded from the cap.

"We made these adjustments …because we wanted the Enterprises to prioritize multifamily purchases of affordable housing," Watts said.

There is something else new for 2016, Watts said. The FHFA will finalize a Duty to Serve rule, meant to "encourage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to innovate responsibly in the areas of affordable housing preservation, housing in rural areas, and manufactured housing."

"Our re-proposed rule on Duty to Serve is forthcoming, and we look forward to getting feedback from all stakeholders," he said.

Instant Insights /

FHFA Keeps GSE Multifamily Cap at $30B; Adds New Exclusions

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