•   "We are concerned that Congress is attempting to set mortgage pricing fees for loans purchased by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). This is the role of their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). A return to the former pricing matrix would raise the cost of homeownership and make it more expensive for first-time homebuyers and borrowers of color seeking conventional loans. The bill also fails to advance housing affordability and does not offer a solution for the millions of mortgage-ready consumers who desire and can succeed in homeownership. Prior to FHFA mandating upfront Loan Level Price Adjustment (LLPA) fees, the GSEs had a stronger track record of purchasing loans made to Black, Latino, AAPI, and Native communities. Since FHFA instituted LLPAs in 2008, the GSEs have grossly underserved the very borrowers on whom the health of the future housing finance system depends. LLPAs also unfairly place the potential burden of future catastrophic risk on the backs of the borrowers who were most harmed by the Great Recession. LLPAs must be eliminated. They force creditworthy first-time homebuyers and borrowers of color to pay more for mortgages, which prices them out of the conventional market. The GSEs’ charters mandate that they serve the whole of the market — not just wealthier borrowers purchasing second homes and investors. FHFA’s recent changes move the system toward greater safety and soundness, which is ultimately in everyone’s best interest." Source: Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA)