Waters praises housing agency for challenging costly ‘forced’ insurance

{mosads}The FHFA, which regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced Tuesday it was considering new restrictions on commissions and fees related to such policies, which can be imposed by lenders on homeowners who let their own policies lapse.

Amid complaints that such policies tend to offer reduced coverage at higher prices, the FHFA is seeking input on how new rules prohibiting the practice could affect the housing market.

Waters and other congressional Democrats have long been critical of the FHFA’s acting director, Edward DeMarco, for not doing more to assist homeowners since the housing bubble burst. Tuesday’s statement marked a rare piece of praise from Waters, who is known as a staunch affordable housing advocate.

“I urge Mr. DeMarco to make up for lost time and prevent further losses to borrowers and taxpayers by moving forward with these proposed reforms as quickly as possible,” she said.

Read more about the FHFA’s decision on The Hill’s RegWatch blog.