CUNA wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency's new director to reverse course and clarify several actions set by his processor that the trade group fears could harm credit unions.
Among several requests discussed during a conference call Monday, CUNA called Mel Watt to speed up the approval process for new mortgage lenders and servicers.
Watt was sworn in today to a five-year term overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The 68-year-old former Democratic Congressman from North Carolina was also a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Currently about two out of three credit unions offer first mortgages to members accounting for 6.5 percent of the home loan market and $123 billion of borrowings in 2012.
CUNA wants Watt to stop the FHFA from instituting a December proposal announced by former Acting FHFA Director Ed DeMarco to lower the largest size of residential mortgages insured Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $400,000 from $417,000 and to $600,000 from $625,000, depending on the region of the nation. The reductions are scheduled to take place Oct. 1.
The trade association is also seeking a lifting of the requirement that a credit union mortgage servicer use a sub-servicer.
CUNA officials said they want Watt to end the uncertainty as to whether non-qualified mortgage loans will be purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises after this month.
CUNA's requests to Watt came in a previously unannounced letter that was sent to him Dec. 19. In the correspondence, the trade group asked him to withdraw DeMarco's proposed guarantee fee increases. The new FHFA chief has promised to delay the hikes.
Also on Monday's call, CUNA Deputy General Counsel Mary Dunn said she is pleased with guidance the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent out last week on new rules for mortgage originators taking affect this month.
Dunn said the directive sends a clear signal it is ok for credit unions and other lenders to make non-qualified mortgages as long as the institutions assess the prospective homeowners' ability to repay.
