Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General • AUD-2014-005 • January 15, 2014
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APPENDIX B
OIG’s Response to FHFA’s Comments
On December 17, 2013, FHFA provided comments to a draft of this report. FHFA agreed
with Recommendation 4 and identified responsive corrective actions. FHFA disagreed with
Recommendations 1, 2, and 3. OIG has attached FHFA’s full response as Appendix A and
considered it where appropriate in finalizing this report. Appendix C provides a summary of
the agency’s response to OIG’s recommendations and the status of any agreed-upon corrective
actions remaining open. In summary, although disagreeing with Recommendations 2 and 3,
FHFA’s actions are sufficient to resolve those recommendations. FHFA’s management decision
not to pursue reimbursement of overpayments closes Recommendation 1.
With respect to Recommendation 4, FHFA management agreed to continue assessing the need
for examination coverage of all aspects affecting the safety and soundness of the Enterprises.
Importantly, FHFA has conducted a recent examination of Fannie Mae’s claims reimbursement
process. By January 31, 2014, FHFA plans to forward a copy of FHFA’s Supervisory Strategy
and examination plans for future coverage to OIG, which reflects its assessment and
consideration of risk in examination activities. OIG considers FHFA’s response to
Recommendation 4 to be sufficient to resolve the recommendation, which will remain open until
OIG receives and reviews the Agency’s examination strategy and plans.
Regarding Recommendations 1, 2, and 3, FHFA cited Fannie Mae’s issuance of Servicing
Guide Announcement SVC-2013-22 (October 30, 2013) that updated property inspection
reimbursements and requirements. Effective January 1, 2014, SVC-2013-22 eliminates the $60
and $200 tolerance limits over the life of a loan in Fannie Mae’s 571 Servicer Processing Guide,
stating that:
Fannie Mae will reimburse servicers a maximum of $15 per exterior property
inspection and a maximum of $20 per interior property inspection.
Thus, going forward, the tolerance limits are no longer in effect, which provides important
context for the following discussion of responses to Recommendations 1, 2, and 3. Also, FHFA
pointed out that its recent examination coverage contributed to Fannie Mae’s actions to
strengthen payment controls through issuance of SVC-2013-22.
In response to Recommendation 1, FHFA stated that it is “important to note that the $60 and
$200 benchmarks are used for risk management purposes and, when exceeded, trigger additional
management review and evaluation.” However, OIG found that Fannie Mae’s actual claim
process in effect during 2011 and 2012, as well as language in the Enterprise’s 571 Servicer
Processing Guide, instructs processors to curtail (i.e., disallow and send back to the servicer)
claimed amounts above tolerance with a note stating: “Paid Property Inspection Fees to
Tolerance.” Further, Fannie Mae did not provide evidence that alternative processing procedures
exist for processors to refer claims that exceed tolerance to an approving official. Finally,
servicers contacted by OIG acknowledged their responsibility to adhere to these tolerance
limits. In fact, several servicers incurred additional property inspection expenses that were not
reimbursed due to the existence of tolerance limits.