Starting the New Year with Gratitude, Optimism, and Resolve

Before I say anything else, thank you.

Thank you for being so warm and welcoming to me when I stepped into my new role as head of the business.

Thank you for your commitment to bringing us sound, quality affordable business.

Thank you for your clear-eyed determination to work out the loans that faltered during this economic upheaval.

Thank you for your help testing new systems and ways of working with us.

Thank you for leaning in to the diversity, equality, and inclusion work that is so critical to building a strong and vital multifamily industry.

Finally, thank you for your partnership and being part of the DUS network at a time when our work is more important than ever.  

Together, we navigated a very challenging market environment. In spite of the market disruption when the pandemic hit, we were able to adjust our underwriting so that we could continue to fulfill our mission of providing liquidity. It’s in moments like these when the DUS model – and our partnership – truly shine.

We launched automated pricing and fast-tracked DUS 360 to help servicers manage loan workouts. We celebrated financing our 10 millionth unit. We leveraged the strengths of the DUS platform – delegation, shared risk, and aligned interests – to provide liquidity despite upheaval in the rental market and economic circumstances that challenged many of our customers and tenants alike.

And, we did a lot of it on wobbly desks crammed into formerly unused corners of our homes.

Leading the multifamily business at such a critical time is a responsibility and a privilege that I don’t take lightly. I could not be more grateful and proud to be doing so at this company, at this moment, with all of you.

In the year ahead, serving our customers, the market, and communities remains paramount. Fannie Mae is focused on establishing and pursuing our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals;  and fulfilling our charge to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the market in a safe and sound manner.

And we will do all this while keeping the health of our business and our people top of mind. We expect to focus on:

1. Keeping the DUS platform healthy and thriving.
   Optimize returns to safeguard the health of our portfolio, manage risk effectively as we navigate the ongoing pandemic, keep expanding delegation, grow our investor base, and maintain our focus on serving the needs of the market.
2. Fulfilling our regulatory requirements.
   Meet or exceed the volume cap’s affordability mandate; rise to the challenge of the new capital rule, manage to our risk limits, and achieve our Duty to Serve and Housing Goals.
3. Delivering on digital.
   Use data, modeling, and analytics to better manage our book and inform our decision-making; update antiquated processes; drive digitization of underwriting information and improve risk management capabilities across the industry; and make doing business with us easier and more efficient to benefit the market.
4. Our impact.
   Lead industry efforts to better understand renters’ needs and how we can address them, tackle the affordability crisis, advance our sustainability initiatives, and expand housing equality.
5. Prioritizing DE&I.
   Lean in to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in every area of our business internally and externally, leverage the power of a truly diverse workforce, and use our platform to address systemic inequality.  

There is still a lot of uncertainty about what conditions in the market and the world will be like in the year to come. But I’ve been in the multifamily business for over 30 years and I am certain that whatever challenges arise, the people, products, and processes that comprise the DUS platform are ready to meet them.

Happy New Year! We’re going to accomplish great things.

Take care,

Michele