NAFCU participated in a call Monday with White House officials regarding proposals to modify the Home Affordable Refinancing Program, run through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and implement a streamlined refinancing program at the Federal Housing Administration.

The Obama administration is supporting three bills introduced last week that address mortgage modifications and refinancing, which include a bill that would allow non-GSE and non-FHA guaranteed loans to be refinanced. They include:

• S. 3047, to implement the FHA streamlined mortgage proposal;
• S. 2909, to require Fannie and Freddie to cover the closing costs of loans refinanced under HARP; and
• S. 3085, to expand the availability of affordable refinancings of loans held by Fannie and Freddie.

All three bills await action of the Senate Banking Committee.

Tessema Tefferi, NAFCU's regulatory affairs counsel, and Jillian Pevo, the association's senior associate director of legislative affairs, represented NAFCU in the call.

The administration earlier this year asked Congress for legislation that would permit eligible homeowners to refinance through Fannie, Freddie and the FHA if the loans to be refinanced had characteristics similar to the conforming loan standards in place at FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises; and the amount of the refinanced loan did not exceed 140% of the property value.

Between 3 million and 4 million households would be eligible for the programs. More than 1 million people had already refinanced through HARP before this January, the White House reported.