The Federal Housing Finance Agency has withdrawn the controversial fee the GSEs planned to charge based on a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio.

With volumes at lows not seen since before the Great Financial Crisis, Fannie and Freddie continue to turn in steady profits.

Disagreements about the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new pricing grids for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac highlight differences between Democrats and Republicans.

FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said critics of the new schedule of upfront fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac misunderstand the nature and purpose of the price changes.

In what appears to be a response to recent bank failures, Freddie has said servicers are responsible for any losses out of custodial accounts if a depository goes bankrupt.

Mortgage industry participants said Fannie should make public a list of condo projects that are ineligible for sale to the enterprise. Fannie said lenders have other financing outlets, including holding the loans in portfolio.

Technical problems for lenders have forced the GSEs to slow the transition to the Uniform Closing Datasets.

The updated UAD is supposed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the appraisal process, but lenders worry it will add significant costs to the mortgage process.

Industry stakeholders have welcomed the FHFA’s plan to make payment deferrals a regular part of loss mitigation. MBA suggested more standardization of workout options is in order.

Most banks are better insulated than Silicon Valley Bank from duration risk in MBS and similar holdings, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. (Includes two data charts.)