Fannie Mae Offers 'Day 1 Certainty' for Lenders and Borrowers with Validation of Income, Assets, and Employment

Pete Bakel

202-752-2034

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced today that it has implemented technology updates to give lenders freedom from representations and warranties for borrower asset and employment information validated through its leading automated underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter^® (DU^®). Validation of borrower income became available on October 24, 2016. Validation of income, assets, and employment is part of Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty^™, a new initiative that streamlines key aspects of the mortgage origination process.

Now, lenders can opt in to use the DU validation service for borrower income, assets, and employment to receive freedom from representations and warranties on validated loan components, bringing greater speed, simplicity, and certainty to lenders and borrowers. These innovations will strengthen risk management and promote increased digitization of data and processes in the mortgage industry. Instead of collecting documents such as paystubs, bank statements, and investment account statements, lenders and borrowers can benefit from the digital process, and there is lower fraud risk when borrower data is gathered directly from employers and financial institutions.

“Upfront digital validation of key borrower loan components is an important step in our efforts to give lenders the Day 1 Certainty they need to transform the mortgage lending process,” said Andrew Bon Salle, executive vice president, single-family business at Fannie Mae. “Along with freedom from representations and warranties, lenders will gain efficiencies and be able to provide a simpler borrower experience.”

The DU validation service uses designated third-party data vendors to independently validate borrower income, assets, and employment data. Fannie Mae has an open platform for data vendor participation to provide choices to our customers. Fannie Mae is committed to ensuring that all qualified data vendors can participate in these validation services and is committed to ongoing communications as new vendors are approved to participate. Prospective designated vendors must undergo a third-party risk review and data accuracy tests, and participate in a pilot phase.

To learn more, visit www.fanniemae.com/Day1Certainty.