CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle, Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Elizabeth Eurgubian, and Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel Elizabeth LaBerge spoke with acting Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Sandra Thompson Monday afternoon. The group discussed housing finance priorities for credit unions.

“We thank Acting Director Thompson for her time, as well as her willingness to discuss our priorities and the need to ensure affordability, stability and durability of our housing finance system in the future,” Nussle said. “Not-for-profit financial cooperatives are at the heart of both the Federal Home Loan Banks’ and government-sponsored enterprises’ statutory mission, and we look forward to continued engagement with the FHFA.”

CUNA wrote to Thompson after she was named acting director, listing short- and long-term housing finance priorities for credit unions. One short-term priority has already been accomplished, as the FHFA announced it would rescind the 0.5% adverse market fee.

Additional short-term priorities include calling on FHFA to:

• Revise its policies regarding the purchase of loans which qualify as qualified mortgages under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) current regulatory framework.
• Restructure the GSEs’ approach to implementing the 7% cap on investment and second home loans.
• Revisit the fourth set of amendments to the Amended and Restated Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with the Treasury at the first opportunity.

In the longer term, CUNA calls on the FHFA to:

• Work with credit unions to further its mission to support sustainable and affordable homeownership.
• Address racial bias in appraisers by
  • Examining the education and training requirements for appraisers to ensure they understand their obligations under the FHA and their own unconscious bias.
  • Improving the number and diversity of qualified appraisers.
  • Increasing the role of technology in the appraisal process where appropriate.
• Take actions to allow the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) to meet their mission, including:
  • Ensuring individual FHLBanks retain the ability to exercise their own discretion, given that they have more understanding of their communities and their risks.
  • Allowing them to provide ancillary services that should not require insured depositories to maintain membership.
  • Protecting their ability to operate in a financially safe and sound fashion to serve primarily as a source of liquidity for the housing finance system.