The Federal Housing Finance Agency today announced additional opportunities for public engagement on its plans to update the credit score process for loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ABA and other trade groups in June raised concerns with FHFA about the public comment process for the proposal, arguing the agency needed to provide “sufficient time and an adaptable structure” to consider and incorporate stakeholder feedback.
Under the proposal, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would replace the current FICO credit score model with the FICO 10T and the VantageScore 4.0 credit score models, and transition from requiring three credit reports to two for single-family loans. FHFA said today that the additional engagement will include stakeholder forums and listening sessions to allow for “identification of a wide variety of issues, opportunities and challenges related to successful implementation of the new requirements, including potential refinements to the timeline for adoption.” The agency further expects that the implementation date for the bi-merge requirement will occur later than the first quarter of 2024, as was initially proposed.
Interested parties who wish to participate in the upcoming public engagement should send their name, affiliation and contact information to [email protected]. FHFA said it expects to provide further details to participants and hold initial sessions in the coming weeks. Those who wish to participate in the initial sessions should respond by Sept. 25.
