Spinning Federal Mortgage Fees

Changes to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s mortgage pricing are creating a stir in the marketplace, not that the bureaucracy wants to admit it. The changes, which take effect Monday, raise costs for some good-credit borrowers while making mortgages cheaper for low-income borrowers.

We highlighted the changes in a recent editorial, and FHFA Director Sandra Thompson objected to our characterization that the plan will socialize mortgage-lending risk. Ms. Thompson says the new policy “won’t impose higher fees on higher-credit-score borrowers than on lower-credit-score borrowers, all else equal.” She says some borrowers with higher credit scores may even pay less.