The Federal Housing Finance Agency has repealed a 2024 final rule that codified many of its existing practices and programs regarding fair housing and fair lending oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
Last year, FHFA proposed to repeal the Fair Lending, Fair Housing and Equitable Housing Finance Plans regulation, citing President Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to repeal “unnecessary” regulations. The agency recently announced in the Federal Register that after taking public comment, it has adopted the repeal, which goes into effect on March 9.
Among other things, the 2024 rule made changes to Fannie’s and Freddie’s Equitable Housing Finance Plans to promote greater accountability; added oversight of unfair or deceptive acts or practices to FHFA’s fair housing and fair lending oversight programs; required additional certification of compliance by all the entities; and established more precise standards related to fair housing, fair lending and equitable housing principles for the entities’ boards. It also created a new requirement for FHLBs to annually report on any actions they voluntarily take to address barriers to sustainable housing opportunities for underserved communities.
In its repeal, FHFA said that while the Equitable Housing Finance Plans outlined in the 2024 rule may offer a broader reach than the existing affordable housing goals and Duty to Serve programs, the latter two “are grounded in statute and subject to rigorous performance evaluation and enforcement mechanisms.”
“As such, these programs are designed to address persistent disparities in access to mortgage credit and housing finance, including those affecting rural, manufactured housing and other underserved markets,” the agency said. “The programmatic structure provides a durable and enforceable framework for advancing access to the housing finance system.”
