CUNA’s LaBerge talks homeownership gap at FHFA listening session

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) can take several steps to address the racial wealth gap and the racial homeownership gap, CUNA Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel Elizabeth LaBerge told an FHFA listening session Tuesday. The agency conducted the session on closing the gap to sustainable homeownership.

“CUNA supports the FHFA’s recent effort to assess and modernize the current GSEs’ appraisal policies, practices and processes,” LaBerge said. “We would strongly encourage the FHFA to carefully examine the education and training requirements for appraisers to ensure they understand existing obligations under the Fair Housing Act, but also receive training on implicit and unconscious bias to ensure appraisers have the tools needed to consciously confront their own bias so that it does not appear in an appraisal report. Further, CUNA strongly supports efforts to improve the number and diversity of appraisers.”

She also encouraged FHFA to consider a pilot program to purchase small mortgages underwritten with alternative data in lieu of traditional credit scores, noting that credit unions’ unique structure and relationship with members allow them to be more flexible when meeting member needs.

 

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