Newsroom

A preferred language question on the government-sponsored enterprises' (GSEs) redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) will now be voluntary instead of mandatory, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced last week. NAFCU flagged for the FHFA credit unions' cost and legal concerns about the addition of the question.

"NAFCU supports efforts to meet the duty to serve requirements to help creditworthy borrowers in underserved communities achieve homeownership," said NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt. "If included on the URLA, the preferred language question could pose legal and cost-related complications for credit unions and their members, and slow down the home buying process. We appreciate the agency taking time to consider these consequences."

The FHFA in June delayed the optional use period – set to begin July 1 – of the redesigned URLA and has now also delayed the mandatory effective date, which was February 2020. The FHFA indicated it would work with stakeholders to finalize the URLA form and develop a new implementation timeline; no new date has been announced.

NAFCU will update credit unions as the FHFA makes public its additional changes to and new timeline for the redesigned URLA.