August 13, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a major partnership with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to further the cause of fair housing and the enforcement of the federal law known as the Fair Housing Act.
The FHFA is an important agency–it serves as the “primary regulator” for federal home loan banks.
According to HUD.gov, FHFA has “broad statutory authority to supervise the regulated entities, including authority to monitor and gather information and conduct supervisory examinations, and enforce compliance with applicable law.”
FHFA is responsible for oversight of:
- Fannie Mae
- Freddie Mac
- Federal Home Loan Banks
The two agencies have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding which has both HUD and FHFA working to “enhance” the enforcement of Fair Housing Act laws.
This is intended to help both agencies “enforce fair housing and fair lending requirements” according to a HUD press release,
The agreement is meant to encourage coordination on investigations, compliance reviews, and monitoring of regulated banks and other entities where applicable.
According to HUD, this agreement and cooperation is meant to provide more robust oversight where fair housing rights and responsibilities are concerned.
“Today’s signing is an important and historic step to advance and strengthen the enforcement of our nation’s fair housing and fair lending requirements,” according to HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, who was quoted in the HUD press release.
She adds, “FHFA oversees entities that have significant control over a large share of the mortgage market. Stepping up our collective fair housing oversight of their activities will make an enormous impact on lives and communities…”
Fudge says both agencies are working in this capacity to “remove barriers that have created separate and unequal neighborhoods” and limited access to housing.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes mention of how the cooperation is to be carried out between two agencies, including HUD and FHFA meeting to share information “concerning current and contemplated fair lending investigations, examinations or compliance reviews, ongoing monitoring of the Enterprises, and other fair lending activity”.
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Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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