The six financial regulators released the final version
of the long-awaited qualified residential mortgage (QRM) rule. The regulators
listened to REALTORS when finalizing the rule, which now equates QRM with the
"Qualified Mortgage (QM)" standard. As originally proposed, the QRM rule would
have narrowly defined QRMs to require a 20-percent downpayment. However, the
revised rule encourages safe and financially prudent mortgage financing while
also ensuring creditworthy homebuyers have access to safe mortgage financing
with lower risk of default. In addition, consistency between both standards
reduces regulatory burden and gives mortgage professionals much-needed clarity
and consistency in the application of the important mortgage standards required
pursuant to Dodd-Frank.
Click
here for the full text of the new QRM rule.