The Consumer Federation of America joined a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), thanking the agency for finalizing a rule on fair housing, fair lending, and equitable housing finance (EHF). This rule is a major step forward in addressing issues of equity in the housing finance system, particularly for people of color and others chronically underserved by the mortgage market.

The coalition urges FHFA to take additional steps to further strengthen the program and build on the new rule by increasing transparency and accountability. As we commented in the RFI on the proposed new rule, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are under extreme pressure to increase their capital reserves, so it is unrealistic to expect the Enterprises to prioritize addressing racial equity unless FHFA sets a clear, public, and well-measured process that results in addressing racial equity in the housing sector.