What Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac crypto means for mortgage firms

Legislators have been debating how fast government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should move toward counting cryptocurrency toward loan qualification, and mortgage companies also need to decide how quickly they’ll respond.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., has introduced a bill pushing regulator Bill Pulte’s initiative forward while Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Bernie Sanders, D.-Vt., have voiced concern about its risks.

Meanwhile, although some fintechs have already moved into the crypto arena, the entry of the two influential quasi-public mortgage investors into the space means more mainstream lenders and servicers may want to start looking into what it’ll involve.

Mortgage executives weighing…