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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have launched a new initiative to help credit unions and other lenders bolster the quality and consistency of the loan delivery data they provide to the government-sponsored enterprises.

The Uniform Mortgage Data Program, announced last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will be available through the GSEs to give lenders uniform guidance on the collection of appraisal and loan delivery data. The program builds on principles outlined in Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2010-03: An Introduction to Fannie Mae's Loan Quality Initiative and reflects the GSEs' work with industry participants.

The UMDP implements two of Fannie's Loan Quality Initiative objectives: electronic submission of appraisal data and collection of additional loan data in an updated, industry-standard format.

Key components of the UMDP include:

• a uniform appraisal dataset that standardizes key appraisal data elements to enhance data quality and promote consistency (available in September 2010);
• a uniform collateral data portal for the electronic collection of appraisal data to minimize impact on lenders (the UCDP will replace Fannie's Collateral Data Delivery portal and will be available in October 2010, and required for loan deliveries on or after April 1, 2011 that also have application dates on or after Jan. 1, 2011); and
• a uniform loan delivery data set that leverages the industry-recognized MISMO Version 3.0 standard (documentation available in June 2010; required for deliveries on or after Sept. 1, 2011).

The FHFA said that the current delivery portal, CDD, will continue to be supported for early adopters until the new one, UCDP, is available. Fannie customers currently working on integrating to CDD will be transitioned to the jointly developed UCDP.

The agency also noted that the uniform loan delivery data set has aligned Fannie and Freddie on the majority of the core data elements and their definitions; instances where data differences persist are a matter of proprietary business or credit policy.

NAFCU is offering a free, member-only webcast on Fannie's Loan Quality Initiative June 16; the webcast runs from 2-3:30 p.m. Eastern. The webcast, which features Fannie Mae Senior Product Development Manager Elizabeth Myers, will help credit unions prepare for the 2010 updates to Fannie's guidelines and provides an overview of the initiative.