ICBA is calling for the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately rescind the decision to charge a 0.5 percent fee on refinance mortgages, expected to cost the average homeowner an additional $1,400 at a time when consumers are struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
This action is contrary to all the actions that the administration, Congress, regulators and the U.S Treasury have taken to support the economy and American families.
Additionally, “By applying the fee retroactively to loans where the pricing is locked with consumers, FHFA and the GSEs will cause financial losses to those lenders who are struggling to comply with government mandated forbearance, loan workouts and modifications on all forms of credit in response to the COVID pandemic,” ICBA said. “This is the wrong action at precisely the wrong time.”
ICBA is urging community banks to write Congress and urge them to contact FHFA and the GSEs and insist that they reverse this misguided and destructive directive immediately.
