Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today proposed to amend the Agency’s Duty to Serve (DTS) Underserved Markets regulation to facilitate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) activities related to serving colonias.
“FHFA is committed to promoting affordability, equity, and sustainability in the nation’s housing finance markets, especially in underserved communities,” said FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson. “With this rule, we seek to remove barriers that have hindered the Enterprises’ Duty to Serve activities for people living in colonias.”
In this proposed rule, FHFA would revise its Enterprise Duty to Serve Underserved Markets regulation to add a definition of “colonia census tract,” which would serve as a census tract-based proxy for a “colonia,” and amend the definition of “high-needs rural region” in the regulation by substituting “colonia census tract” for “colonia.”
The proposed rule would also update the definition of “rural area” in the regulation to include all colonia census tracts regardless of location. These changes would make Enterprise activities in all colonia census tracts eligible for Duty to Serve credit.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments on this proposed rule within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. Comments should be submitted via FHFA’s website or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of General Counsel, Attention: Comments/RIN 2590-AB22, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20219.
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $7.9 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.FHFA.gov, on Twitter, @FHFA, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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