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The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they are partnering to better enforce fair housing and fair lending regulations. The FHFA and HUD entered into what they called a first-of-its-kind collaborative agreement on Thursday, in which the two agencies have committed to sharing information and coordinating investigations and compliance reviews.
HUD is primarily charged as the government agency that enforces the Fair Housing Act. The FHFA regulates the government-sponsored enterprises of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Home Loan Banks.
The memorandum will help strengthen their ability to enforce fair housing and fair lending requirements by promoting information sharing, coordination on investigations, compliance reviews, and the ongoing monitoring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said HUD and the FHFA in the announcement. They expect the agreement to lead to “stronger oversight that will help advance vigorous fair housing enforcement that can begin to redress our nation’s history of discriminatory housing practices.”
The memorandum “is an important and historic step to advance and strengthen the enforcement of our nation’s fair housing and fair lending requirements,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “FHFA oversees entities that have significant control over a large share of the mortgage market. Stepping up our collective fair housing oversight of their activities will make an enormous impact on lives and communities.”
Courtesy FHFA