Feds to Study MPF's AH Results

Federal regulators are initiating a joint study to see how well the Mortgage Partnership Finance program, which was created by the Federal Home Loan Banks five years ago, is doing at funding affordable housing loans.The Federal Housing Finance Board and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are conducting the joint study to see how the MPF program scores under the affordable housing goals that HUD sets for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The study is mandated by Finance Board regulations that authorized the Chicago FHLBank to start purchasing single-family mortgages from member banks and thrifts. "We are just in the early stages of doing that study," Finance Board member Allan Mendelowitz told a conference on government-sponsored enterprises and community development. He said he does not want to prejudge the findings. But he indicated that the report will address the issue of whether the Finance Board should set AH goals for the MPF program.