12 U.S.C. § 1454 — Purchase and sale of mortgages; residential mortgages; conventional mortgages; terms and conditions of sale or other disposition; authority to enter into, perform, and carry out transactions

**(a) Authority for purchase and sale; residential mortgages; conventional mortgages; terms and conditions of sale or other disposition; lending activities** (1) The Corporation is authorized to purchase, and make commitments to purchase, residential mortgages. The Corporation may hold and deal with, and sell or otherwise dispose of, pursuant to commitments or otherwise, any such mortgage or interest therein. The operations of the Corporation under this section shall be confined so far as practicable to residential mortgages which are deemed by the Corporation to be of such quality, type, and class as to meet generally the purchase standards imposed by private institutional mortgage investors. The Corporation may establish requirements, and impose charges or fees, which may be regarded as elements of pricing, for different classes of sellers or servicers, and for such purposes the Corporation is authorized to classify sellers or servicers according to type, size, location, assets, or, without limitation on the generality of the foregoing, on such other basis or bases of differentiation as the Corporation may consider necessary or appropriate to effectuate the purposes or provisions of this chapter. The Corporation may specify requirements concerning among other things, (A) minimum net worth; (B) supervisory mechanisms; (C) warranty compensation mechanisms; (D) prior approval of facilities; (E) prior origination and servicing experience with respect to different types of mortgages; (F) capital contributions and substitutes; (G) mortgage purchase volume limits; and (H) reduction of mortgage purchases during periods of borrowing. With respect to any particular type of seller, the Corporation shall not be required to make available programs involving prior approval of mortgages, optional delivery of mortgages, and purchase of other than conventional mortgages to an extent greater than the Corporation elects to make such programs available to other types of eligible sellers. Any requirements specified by the Corporation pursuant to the preceding three sentences must bear a rational relationship to the purposes or provisions of this chapter, but will not be considered discriminatory solely on the grounds of differential effects on types of eligible sellers. Insofar as is practicable, the Corporation shall make reasonable efforts to encourage participation in its programs by each type of eligible seller. Nothing in this section authorizes the Corporation to impose any charge or fee upon any mortgagee approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for participation in any mortgage insurance program under the National Housing Act [[12 U.S.C. 1701](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section1701&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.] solely because of such status. (2) No conventional mortgage secured by a property comprising one- to four-family dwelling units shall be purchased under this section if the outstanding principal balance of the mortgage at the time of purchase exceeds 80 per centum of the value of the property securing the mortgage, unless (A) the seller retains a participation of not less than 10 per centum in the mortgage; (B) for such period and under such circumstances as the Corporation may require, the seller agrees to repurchase or replace the mortgage upon demand of the Corporation in the event that the mortgage is in default; or (C) that portion of the unpaid principal balance of the mortgage which is in excess of such 80 per centum is guaranteed or insured by a qualified insurer as determined by the Corporation. The Corporation shall not issue a commitment to purchase a conventional mortgage prior to the date the mortgage is originated, if such mortgage is eligible for purchase under the preceding sentence only by reason of compliance with the requirements of clause (A) of such sentence. The Corporation may purchase a conventional mortgage which was originated more than one year prior to the purchase date only if the seller is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, or any other seller currently engaged in mortgage lending or investing activities. With respect to any transaction in which a seller contemporaneously sells mortgages originated more than one year old prior to the date of sale to the Corporation and receives in payment for such mortgages securities representing undivided interests only in those mortgages, the Corporation shall not impose any fee or charge upon an eligible seller which is not a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank which differs from that imposed upon an eligible seller which is such a member. The Corporation shall establish limitations governing the maximum original principal obligation of conventional mortgages that are purchased by it; in any case in which the Corporation purchases a participation interest in such a mortgage, the limitation shall be calculated with respect to the total original principal obligation of the mortgage and not merely with respect to the interest purchased by the Corporation. Such limitations shall not exceed $417,000 for a mortgage secured by a single-family residence, $533,850 for a mortgage secured by a 2-family residence, $645,300 for a mortgage secured by a 3-family residence, and $801,950 for a mortgage secured by a 4-family residence, except that such maximum limitations shall be adjusted effective January 1 of each year beginning after the effective date of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, subject to the limitations in this paragraph. Each adjustment shall be made by adding to each such amount (as it may have been previously adjusted) a percentage thereof equal to the percentage increase, during the most recent 12-month or 4-quarter period ending before the time of determining such annual adjustment, in the housing price index maintained by the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (pursuant to [section 4542 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section4542&num=0&edition=prelim)). If the change in such house price index during the most recent 12-month or 4-quarter period ending before the time of determining such annual adjustment is a decrease, then no adjustment shall be made for the next year, and the next adjustment shall take into account prior declines in the house price index, so that any adjustment shall reflect the net change in the house price index since the last adjustment. Declines in the house price index shall be accumulated and then reduce increases until subsequent increases exceed prior declines. The foregoing limitations may be increased by not to exceed 50 per centum with respect to properties located in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands. Such foregoing limitations shall also be increased, with respect to properties of a particular size located in any area for which 115 percent of the median house price for such size residence exceeds the foregoing limitation for such size residence, to the lesser of 150 percent of such limitation for such size residence or the amount that is equal to 115 percent of the median house price in such area for such size residence. (3) The sale or other disposition by the Corporation of a mortgage under this section may be with or without recourse, and shall be upon such terms and conditions relating to resale, repurchase, guaranty, substitution, replacement, or otherwise as the Corporation may prescribe. (4) (A) The Corporation is authorized to purchase, service, sell, lend on the security of, and otherwise deal in (i) residential mortgages that are secured by a subordinate lien against a one- to four-family residence that is the principal residence of the mortgagor; and (ii) residential mortgages that are secured by a subordinate lien against a property comprising five or more family dwelling units. If the Corporation shall have purchased, serviced, sold, or otherwise dealt with any other outstanding mortgage secured by the same residence, the aggregate original amount of such other mortgage and the mortgage authorized to be purchased, serviced, sold, or otherwise dealt with under this paragraph shall not exceed the applicable limitation determined under paragraph (2). (B) The Corporation shall establish limitations governing the maximum original principal obligation of such mortgages. In any case in which the Corporation purchases a participation interest in such a mortgage, the limitation shall be calculated with respect to the total original principal obligation of such mortgage secured by a subordinate lien and not merely with respect to the interest purchased by the Corporation. Such limitations shall not exceed (i) with respect to mortgages described in subparagraph (A)(i), 50 per centum of the single-family residence mortgage limitation determined under paragraph (2); and (ii) with respect to mortgages described in subparagraph (A)(ii), the applicable limitation determined under paragraph (2). (C) No subordinate mortgage against a one- to four-family residence shall be purchased by the Corporation if the total outstanding indebtedness secured by the property as a result of such mortgage exceeds 80 per centum of the value of such property unless (i) that portion of such total outstanding indebtedness that exceeds such 80 per centum is guaranteed or insured by a qualified insurer as determined by the Corporation; (ii) the seller retains a participation of not less than 10 per centum in the mortgage; or (iii) for such period and under such circumstances as the Corporation may require, the seller agrees to repurchase or replace the mortgage upon demand of the Corporation in the event that the mortgage is in default. The Corporation shall not issue a commitment to purchase a subordinate mortgage prior to the date the mortgage is originated, if such mortgage is eligible for purchase under the preceding sentence only by reason of compliance with the requirements of clause (iii) of such sentence. (5) The Corporation is authorized to lend on the security of, and to make commitments to lend on the security of, any mortgage that the Corporation is authorized to purchase under this section. The volume of the Corporation’s lending activities and the establishment of its loan ratios, interest rates, maturities, and charges or fees in its secondary market operations under this paragraph, shall be determined by the Corporation from time to time; and such determinations shall be consistent with the objectives that the lending activities shall be conducted on such terms as will reasonably prevent excessive use of the Corporation’s facilities, and that the operations of the Corporation under this paragraph shall be within its income derived from such operations and that such operations shall be fully self-supporting. The Corporation shall not be permitted to use its lending authority under this paragraph (A) to advance funds to a mortgage seller on an interim basis, using mortgage loans as collateral, pending the sale of the mortgages in the secondary market; or (B) to originate mortgage loans. Notwithstanding any Federal, State, or other law to the contrary, the Corporation is hereby empowered, in connection with any loan under this paragraph, whether before or after any default, to provide by contract with the borrower for the settlement or extinguishment, upon default, of any redemption, equitable, legal, or other right, title, or interest of the borrower in any mortgage or mortgages that constitute the security for the loan; and with respect to any such loan, in the event of default and pursuant otherwise to the terms of the contract, the mortgages that constitute such security shall become the absolute property of the Corporation. **(b) Authority of other institutions to enter into, perform, and carry out transactions** Notwithstanding any other law, authority to enter into and to perform and carry out any transactions or matter referred to in this section is conferred on any Federal home loan bank, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, any Federal savings and loan association, any Federal home loan bank member, and any other financial institution the deposits or accounts of which are insured by an agency of the United States to the extent that Congress has the power to confer such authority. **(c) Prior approval of Secretary for new programs** The Corporation may not implement any new program (as such term is defined in [section 4502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section4502&num=0&edition=prelim)) before obtaining the approval of the Secretary under section 4542 11 See References in Text note below. of this title. **(d) Use of credit scores as condition for approval of residential mortgages** (1) **Definition** — In this subsection, the term “credit score” means a numerical value or a categorization created by a third party derived from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a person who makes or arranges a loan to predict the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, including default. (2) **Use of credit scores** — The Corporation shall condition purchase of a residential mortgage by the Corporation under this section on the provision of a credit score for the borrower only if— (A) the credit score is derived from any credit scoring model that has been validated and approved by the Corporation under this subsection; and (B) the Corporation provides for the use of the credit score by all of the automated underwriting systems of the Corporation and any other procedures and systems used by the Corporation to purchase residential mortgages that use a credit score. (3) **Validation and approval process** — The Corporation shall establish a validation and approval process for the use of credit score models, under which the Corporation may not validate and approve a credit score model unless the credit score model— (A) satisfies minimum requirements of integrity, reliability, and accuracy; (B) has a historical record of measuring and predicting default rates and other credit behaviors; (C) is consistent with the safe and sound operation of the corporation; (D) complies with any standards and criteria established by the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency under [section 4548(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section4548/1&num=0&edition=prelim); and (E) satisfies any other requirements, as determined by the Corporation. (4) **Replacement of credit score model** — If the Corporation has validated and approved 1 or more credit score models under paragraph (3) and the Corporation validates and approves an additional credit score model, the Corporation may determine that— (A) the additional credit score model has replaced the credit score model or credit score models previously validated and approved; and (B) the credit score model or credit score models previously validated and approved shall no longer be considered validated and approved for the purposes of paragraph (2). (5) **Public disclosure** — Upon establishing the validation and approval process required under paragraph (3), the Corporation shall make publicly available a description of the validation and approval process. (6) **Application** — Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this subsection, the Corporation shall solicit applications from developers of credit scoring models for the validation and approval of those models under the process required under paragraph (3). (7) **Timeframe for determination; notice** (A) *In general* — The Corporation shall make a determination with respect to any application submitted under paragraph (6), and provide notice of that determination to the applicant, before a date established by the Corporation that is not later than 180 days after the date on which an application is submitted to the Corporation. (B) *Extensions* — The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency may authorize not more than 2 extensions of the date established under subparagraph (A), each of which shall not exceed 30 days, upon a written request and a showing of good cause by the Corporation. (C) *Status notice* — The Corporation shall provide notice to an applicant regarding the status of an application submitted under paragraph (6) not later than 60 days after the date on which the application was submitted to the Corporation. (D) *Reasons for disapproval* — If an application submitted under paragraph (6) is disapproved, the Corporation shall provide to the applicant the reasons for the disapproval not later than 30 days after a determination is made under this paragraph. (8) **Authority of Director** — If the Corporation elects to use a credit score under this subsection, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall require the Corporation to periodically review the validation and approval process required under paragraph (3) as the Director determines necessary to ensure that the process remains appropriate and adequate and complies with any standards and criteria established pursuant to [section 4548(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section4548/1&num=0&edition=prelim). (9) **Extension** — If, as of the effective date of this subsection, a credit score model has not been approved under paragraph (3), the Corporation may use a credit score model that was in use before the effective date of this subsection, if necessary to prevent substantial market disruptions, until the earlier of— (A) the date on which a credit score model is validated and approved under paragraph (3); or (B) the date that is 2 years after the effective date of this subsection.