A rule designed to promote fair lending and equitable housing finance practices may be repealed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) less than two years after it was established.
A notice posted by the FHFA to the Federal Register seeks the repeal of 12 CFR Part 1293, a portion of the Code of Federal Regulations established during the Biden administration on May 16, 2024.
That rule requires government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “engage in equitable housing finance planning and to take meaningful actions to support underserved communities.” Additionally, it stipulates that Fannie and Freddie separately adopt an “equitable housing finance plan” covering a three-year period.
In seeking to repeal the rule, the FHFA argues that similar regulations adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission provide sufficient protections for consumers.
Those regulations include the Fair Housing Act, an anti-housing discrimination law administered by HUD; the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a similar anti-discrimination law impacting the credit industry that’s primarily administered by the CFPB; and the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair, deceptive and abusive acts affecting consumers.
The FHFA states in the repeal notice that it is “unnecessary and redundant for FHFA to publish a regulation requiring compliance with those statutes.” It adds that “duplicative overlap in regulation and statute throughout agency functions is costly for the government and repeal would result in savings.”
The notice states the FHFA is accepting written comments on the proposed rule recession on or before Sept. 26. Details regarding how to submit comments are found in the Federal Register posting.
The FHFA has rolled back a series of Biden-era housing policies since Director Bill Pulte took the reins in March. About two weeks after taking office, Pulte rescinded several advisory bulletins and directives, including a 2024 advisory bulletin that called on the FHFA to work against unfair and deceptive acts or practices, also known as UDAP.
Noting that the FHFA is “not the primary administrator of the statutory provisions prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” the recission order stated the rollback was intended to “reduce potential conflict or confusion over interpretation of UDAP provisions.”
