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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

FHFA delays effective date of DTI ratio-based fee

Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues FHFA Consumer Finance Mortgages Fannie Mae Freddie Mac

Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

On March 15, FHFA delayed the implementation of a new debt-to-income ratio-based fee to August 1, in order to ensure lenders have sufficient time to prepare. In January, FHFA made several changes relating to upfront fees for certain borrowers with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios above 40 percent. The updated and recalibrated pricing grids also include the upfront fee eliminations announced last October to increase pricing support for purchase borrowers limited by income or by wealth, FHFA said. The agency made the decision to delay the effective date by three months based on feedback from mortgage industry stakeholders who raised concerns about the operational challenges of implementing the DTI ratio-based fee. FHFA also confirmed that “lenders will not be subject to post-purchase price adjustments related to this DTI ratio-based fee for loans acquired by [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] between August 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.” The agency explained that this temporary exception “will not alter any other quality control review decisions by [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac].”