House Dems: FHFA, HUD Moves to Block Eminent-Domain Mortgage Seizures Could Violate Anti-Discrimination Laws
November 22, 2013
Any policies employed by federal regulators that restrict mortgage lending in localities that use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages would violate anti-discrimination laws, according to a group of House Democrats. In letters to two government agencies, a group of 10 Democrat lawmakers led by Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison said the Federal Housing Finance Agency should continue to provide access to government-sponsored enterprise MBS guaranties and the Department of Housing and Urban Development should allow FHA mortgage insurance in such communities. To deny such access would be illegal under the Fair Housing Act and would violate credit discrimination laws, according to a draft of the letters obtained by Inside MBS & ABS. An FHFA spokesman confirmed...