WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must restrict future mortgage purchases to "qualified mortgage" loans.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlined the criteria for such loans in a rule issued in January, which included limitations on fees and points charged and verification of a borrower's income.
When the rule goes into effect on Jan. 10 of next year, the FHFA said Fannie and Freddie will only purchase QM loans, effectively barring them from buying interest-only loans or those beyond a 30-year maturity.
The agency did provide flexibility for loans where the borrower had a debt-to-income ratio greater than 43% — another key component of the qualified mortgage rule. Fannie and Freddie may still buy loans with a higher DTI provided it meets underwriting and other eligibility requirements in the GSEs' selling guidelines.
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