FHFA to Ease Credit Data Rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Seeking Alpha··US·Read original
3▲0 ▼3Impact / 5
Summary · why it matters

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is planning to instruct mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to require lenders to use credit data from two major credit reporting bureaus instead of three, according to a media report on Thursday. The new requirement could be unveiled by FHFA Director Bill Pulte as soon as Oct. 12, when he is scheduled to speak at a mortgage industry conference, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the plans. Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian Plc are the dominant credit reporting firms, and loans sold to Fannie and Freddie are currently required to include a tri-merge report combining data from all three companies. Shares in Fair Isaac, which creates tri-merge reports, dropped 7.0% in Thursday after-hours trading, while TransUnion slid 4.2% and Equifax slipped 3.7%. Last month, Pulte said he was considering a bi-merge requirement as part of the Trump administration's efforts to lower closing costs and make homeownership more affordable, and the new requirement is expected to take effect within one to three months of the announcement.

Impact on assets 6

Cybersecurity & Digital Trust▼ · 2 stocks
Equifax Inc
EFX
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

FHFA plan to require bi-merge instead of tri-merge credit reports would cut Equifax out of many mortgage reports, reducing demand for its credit data.

TransUnion
TRU
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

TransUnion would lose one of three bureau slots in mortgage credit reports under the FHFA's planned bi-merge rule.

Financials▲ · 2 stocks
Freddie Mac
0IKZ
± MixedRegulationrelevance

FHFA instructs Freddie Mac to adopt a bi-merge credit data requirement aimed at lowering closing costs; effect on the GSE itself is unclear.

Fannie Mae
0IL0
± MixedRegulationrelevance

Fannie Mae is directed by FHFA to require two credit bureaus instead of three, a policy change whose net impact on the GSE is unclear.

Artificial Intelligence▼ · 1 stocks
Fair Isaac Corporation
FICO
▼ NegativeRegulationrelevance

Fair Isaac's tri-merge reports would be displaced by the FHFA's planned bi-merge requirement, hitting its mortgage credit reporting business.

Cloud & Digital Infrastructure▲ · 1 stocks
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