The average single-family guarantee fee paid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only increased by two basis points in 2015 to 59 bps, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's annual report to Congress.
After a review of the adequacy of its fees, the FHFA found that there was "no compelling economic reason to change the overall level of fees," the agency said in the report released Monday. Of the 59-basis-point total for average guarantee fees, 16 bps came from upfront charges while 42 bps came from ongoing ones.
Last year, the FHFA ordered the elimination of the 25-basis-point upfront adverse market charge that had been in place since 2008. The government-sponsored enterprises were directed to replace revenue lost from the elimination of that charge with targeted charges for risk-based and access-to-credit considerations, the report said. Overall, the FHFA said that the changes made were revenue neutral to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The FHFA used the report to shoot down a call
"Although positive developments in the mortgage market continue to occur, we believe that current g-fees and LLPAs continue to strike the right balance," FHFA Director Mel Watt wrote in a letter sent today to the petitioners in response to that request.
"However, we are consistently evaluating and re-evaluating the level of g-fees and LLPAs to be sure that they reflect appropriate assessments of the above factors."
