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59 affirmative, consistent, and customer-friendly with forbearance and loss mitigation have a risk from the CFPB," Bartlett said. Haynie added, "e last thing you want is to have the CFPB come calling, so I think people are going to be very diligent." It isn't as if the previous CFPB Director did an ineffective job, Haynie noted, but dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis will fall on the shoulders of new leadership. In order to remain compliant, Bartlett suggests servicers be deliberate and careful when dealing with customers. "Communicate all available options," he said. Most importantly, "don't wait for your customers to contact you," Bartlett added. "You contact them affirmatively." In addition, documentation of policies, procedures, and training that was done during the pandemic is critical, Bartlett said. Tobias Peter suggests that the CFPB's move to delay the mandatory compliance date of the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) final rule until October 1, 2022, is among its most significant 2021 announcements. He explains: the new QM rule was meant to replace the 43% debt-to-income (DTI) limit with a price-based threshold based on a loan's annual percentage rate (APR) to the average prime offer rate (APOR). "e APOR rule is very flawed. It does not capture risk accurately," he said. "AEI's analysis shows that for loans with identical APOR rate spreads, default occurrences vary greatly. e APOR also does not ensure responsible access to credit, as it loosens underwriting standards during a boom, which disproportionately harms minorities and lower-income borrowers." As a result, he says, it will promote higher- risk loans, which, during a boom, makes housing less affordable, requiring borrowers to take on more debt and more risk. e APOR rule, he adds, accommodates all that. Peter suggests the Bureau take the opportunity to base its QM rule on a more holistic view of mortgage risk, which is built around actual default experience under stress. "Such a rule would help borrowers in two important ways," he said. "First, it would provide them with the information required to make an informed decision on how much default risk they are taking on, and it will not provide more gasoline to home price appreciation that is already threatening to price lower-income and minority households out of the market." Steve Bartlett expects fairness and equality to be the No. 1 focus of every agency that determines and enforces the rules by which the mortgage and housing finance industry lives. He points, for example, to the CFPB's May report on borrowers during the pandemic, which details distinct challenges for people of color who have mortgages. "It's all about characteristics and demographics. e mortgage industry should be especially mindful of all things involving racial equity. at will be the lens through which mortgage lending will be viewed. Fair lending and fair servicing will be the focus," Bartlett said. "As Secretary Fudge said during her confirmation hearing, 'It's time to level the playing field.'" THE FUTURE OF FHFA Several potential changes loom on the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) horizon. First, there is the government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which it oversees. Will the government- sponsored enterprises be released from the conservatorship under which they were placed after nearly collapsing amid the subprime mortgage crisis? Moreover, will FHFA Director Mark Calabria remain at the head of the Agency? e U.S. Supreme Court, in Collins v. Mnuchin, could decide any day whether the President has the power to replace FHFA's Director. "In today's hot housing market, any policy that stokes demand against a limited supply will fail." —Tobias Peter, Director of Research, AEI Housing Center

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