Freddie Mac Expands Use of Bank Account Data for Verifications

Source: National Mortgage News (Subscription may be required.)

Freddie Mac on Thursday confirmed an earlier promise by the head of its single-family division that it would be further extending the types of borrower information that bank data could be used to verify.

Starting June 1, mortgage companies selling loans to the government-sponsored enterprise will be able to use bank data for a 10-day pre-closing employment check as well as to verify income and assets. The move builds on a prior initiative in which Freddie began allowing mortgage companies to use bank information to check income and assets in the initial application process.

This moves Freddie closer to what has long been a holy grail for both it and its competitor, Fannie Mae: a quick, digital verification of key underwriting data for which the employment piece in particular has been a stumbling block.