in effect
This is a final rule from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that permanently removes an existing regulation — 12 CFR Part 1293 — from the books. That regulation, adopted in May 2024, had established fair lending oversight requirements and required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create and publish three-year “Equitable Housing Finance Plans.” The repeal takes effect March 9, 2026.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no longer need to create, publish, or report on triennial Equitable Housing Finance Plans or annual performance reports against those plans. The Federal Home Loan Banks no longer need to report to FHFA on activities they voluntarily undertook to support underserved communities. The requirement for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to collect data on mortgage applicants’ language preference and housing counseling completion is also eliminated. Existing federal laws — including the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and statutory affordable housing goals — remain in force and unchanged; only the FHFA-created regulatory layer on top of them is removed. FHFA retains its general supervisory authority to examine the regulated entities for fair lending compliance and can still factor fair lending performance into supervisory ratings.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are directly affected, as they are relieved of the planning, reporting, and data-collection obligations that Part 1293 imposed on them. Housing counseling agencies, community organizations, and underserved borrowers who engaged with or benefited from the Equitable Housing Finance Plan process lose that specific planning and public-accountability mechanism, though the underlying statutory protections and affordable housing programs those entities rely on remain in place.