Congress Asks FHFA Director to Pause Enterprise Regulatory Capital Rulemaking

Several members of Congress asked Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") Director Mark Calabria to delay a proposed rule that would establish a new regulatory capital framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In a letter, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Congress member Denny Heck (D-WA) emphasized the complexity of the proposed rulemaking and requested to "pause this rulemaking until after the COVID-19 crisis passes." They also urged Mr. Calabria to (i) provide the public with sufficient analysis of how the rule would affect access to credit for underserved borrowers, including borrowers of color and lower-income borrowers, and (ii) extend the comment deadline to give the public adequate time to review the rule.