Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in conjunction with their oversight body, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), have rebranded their legacy joint venture, Common Securitization Solutions (CSS), to U.S. Financial Technology, LLC.
The move came partly to boost the company’s recognition but also to help grow its customer base, according to FHFA Director William J. Pulte.
“One of Fannie & Freddie’s most undervalued assets is a little known company, ‘CSS,’” Pulte posted on X. “It being little-known changes TODAY! We’ve created U.S. Fin Tech to hold CSS and sell our MBS Fin Tech Services to others — thanks to President Trump, this will unlock so much value for America.”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac created CSS in late 2013 to develop and operate a common securitization platform, which is called the Common Securitization Platform (CSP). It manages the issuance and administration of the GSEs’ single-family mortgage-backed securities (MBS) business.
Delaware-based U.S. Fin Tech is “the largest and most technologically advanced” mortgage securitization platform in the financial services industry, FHFA contended. It administers $6.5 trillion in outstanding principal balances of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's MBS portfolios across 1 million securitization structures, representing some 30 million loans.
The new U.S. Fin Tech name now “better reflects its critical role in providing advanced, innovative technology and business solutions” for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — and potentially to a growing number of clients — according to a joint FHFA-Fannie-Freddie release.
The brief release reads: “The change reaffirms the company's mission to support U.S. housing by ensuring liquidity, safety, and soundness in the market, and positions U.S. Fin Tech for additional opportunities to create value and introduce industry leading capabilities for its existing and future clients.”
"We are excited to have a name that demonstrates that we are leading the United States and the world in financial services technology," said Tony Renzi, CEO of U.S. Fin Tech. Renzi also was CEO of CSS, and has remained in that position with the name change.
"We created U.S. Fin Tech to demonstrate the incredible ingenuity of American technology under President Trump's leadership," commented FHFA Director Pulte, who is also chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Another Potential Name Change
Meanwhile, Pulte also posted this morning on X that FHFA is considering renaming LLPAs, in this case for clarity of purpose and simplicity.
An LLPA, or Loan-Level Price Adjustment, is a risk-based fee assessed on conventional mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. LLPAs are designed to offset the risk the GSEs face when guaranteeing mortgages — particularly those deemed higher risk.
By adjusting the price of acquired mortgages, often via higher interest rates or upfront fees, LLPAs help ensure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected from potential losses if borrowers default.
“We are looking into changing the name of ‘LLPA’ to just ‘Pricing,’” Pulte wrote. “Because that’s what it is — just pricing. The name LLPA, in my opinion, is meant to be confusing.”
