"High quality counseling provides the first-time homebuyer in particularwith reliable information and the resources necessary to make the kind ofinformed decisions that ultimately lead to sustainable homeownership," saidHerb Allison, President and CEO, Fannie Mae. "In this extraordinary market, wethink it is critical to reinstate this requirement and to work with counselingagencies and our lender partners to help homeowners succeed."

All required borrower counseling will be provided according to theNational Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling, orthose of comparable quality as established by other organizations. TheNational Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling weredeveloped by a national advisory council of industry stakeholders, includingFannie Mae, and spearheaded by the NeighborWorks(R) Center for HomeownershipEducation and Counseling. Fannie Mae has long promoted and supported thedevelopment of industry-wide standards to ensure high quality and consistentpre- and post-purchase homebuyer education.

"Too often, homebuyers arrive at the settlement table without a fullunderstanding of the terms and conditions of their loan or the overallresponsibilities of homeownership. Educated buyers are able to make betterchoices to achieve sustainable homeownership," said Ken Wade, CEO,NeighborWorks. "Now, more than ever, the housing industry recognizes the needto ensure high quality education, and counseling is a key step on the path tohomeownership, particularly for new homebuyers. We applaud Fannie Mae fortaking this step."

"Certified housing counselors are experts on the process of planning forbuying a home, and keeping that home once you're there," said Susan C.Keating, President and CEO, National Foundation for Credit Counseling, whose1,630 certified housing counselors offer pre-purchase counseling in 847locations across the country. "We're pleased to be working with Fannie Mae insupporting the effort to ensure that Americans embarking upon the long journeyto homeownership do so as prepared as possible."

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta, aHUD-certified housing counseling agency, provides pre-purchase housingcounseling for consumers at 18 offices in four Southeastern states.Prospective homeowners learn about the home-buying process, as well as thecosts involved in the care and maintenance of a home. "Any person who receivespre-purchase housing counseling understands the financial obligations involvedin homeownership and learns how to budget their income to pay for all of theseobligations," said Michelle Jones, Vice President of counseling for CCCS ofGreater Atlanta.

Fannie Mae will continue to encourage face-to-face education andcounseling, with some flexibility for telephone counseling to accommodateborrowers who are unable to attend face-to-face sessions or who do not have aneligible provider in their area. The counseling curriculum, provided prior toclosing by an independent and certified third party agency or counselor, willcover a variety of topics including: readiness for homeownership; budgetingand credit; selecting a home; obtaining a mortgage; and maintaining a home. Inaddition, homebuyers will receive a personalized assessment of their financialposition and readiness for homeownership, and an analysis of their credithistory and current financial situation.

"Housing counseling gives sound mind in the home buying process.Financial education is essential to making prudent money-making decisions,"said Rev. Elmira Smith-Vincent, President and CEO of the Flint, Michigan-basedMission of Peace which provides counseling to individuals and families.

MyCommunityMortgage provides lenders a conforming alternative for low- andmoderate-income borrowers and provides options that can help lenders servecommunities and provide financing options to teachers, police officers,firefighters, health care workers, eligible military personnel and people withdisabilities.

"At Citi, we believe homeownership plays an important role in improvingpeople's lives and strengthening communities. For many people, access toquality first time homeownership counseling is key to owning and keeping ahome," said Sanjiv Das, CEO, CitiMortgage. "This year, Citi's Office ofFinancial Education celebrated the fourth anniversary of our unprecedented10-year, $200 million global commitment to Financial Education," he added.

"An informed homebuyer is an empowered homebuyer and we commend allefforts to enhance consumer education requirements," said Cara Heiden,Co-President, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "Homeowners succeed financially onlywhen they fully understand their financial options and available mortgageoptions. Wells Fargo has a long-standing commitment to offering a variety ofhomebuyer education opportunities and our experience demonstrates consumersare less likely to need future assistance if they enter the loan originationprocess with a strong knowledge base."

For borrowers purchasing a two-to-four-unit property under theMyCommunityMortgage product, Fannie Mae will continue to require pre-purchaseeducation and counseling, as well as landlord counseling in accordance withits Becoming a Landlord education curriculum or a program with similarcontent: https://www.efanniemae.com/lc/publications/pdf/landlord.pdf. Inaddition, post-purchase, early delinquency counseling continues to be requiredfor all borrowers obtaining a MyCommunityMortgage loan, regardless of propertytype. Read the Fannie Mae Selling Guide for details:https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/index.jsp.

For more information, see announcement 08-25, Homebuyer Education andCounseling, on efanniemae.com and the "Find a Counselor" search athttps://www.efanniemae.com/is/hcounselors/index.jsp?from=hp.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta is a 501(c)3nonprofit community-service agency that provides confidential budgetcounseling, money management education, debt management programs, bankruptcycounseling and education, and comprehensive housing counseling. The agencyserved more than 400,000 consumers in 2007, primarily from low- andmoderate-income households, in all 50 states.

Consumers can speak to counselors in English and Spanish 24 hours a day,365 days a year, by phone at 1-800-251-CCCS, and also access the agency's websites, www.cccsinc.org and www.cccsenespanol.org where live-chat counselorsare available around the clock.

Mission of Peace is a faith-based, non-profit organization based in Flint,Michigan, that provides homeownership counseling to individuals and families.Mission of Peace National Corporation is a United States Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD) National Housing Counseling Agency with anaffiliate network of housing counseling agencies throughout the United Statesof America.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, isthe nation's largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counselingorganization. The NFCC's mission is to promote the national agenda forfinancially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliverthe highest quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC membersannually help more than two million consumers through close to 900community-based offices nationwide. For free and affordable confidentialadvice through a reputable NFCC member, call 1-800-388-2227, (en Espanol1-800-682-9832) or visit www.nfcc.org.

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve theirlives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownershipand to safe and affordable rental housing. To date, we have assisted nearly850,000 low- to moderate-income families with their housing needs. Much of oursuccess is achieved through our support of the NeighborWorks network -- morethan 230 community development organizations working in 4,400 urban, suburbanand rural communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and PuertoRico. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated morethan $12.4 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks Americais the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordablehousing professionals.

Organizations providing homeownership education can endorse and adopt theNational Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling, orintegrate the recommended benchmarks into their business operations. For moreinformation, visit the Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling(http://www.homeownershipstandards.com).

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 millioncustomer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providingconsumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range offinancial products and services, including consumer banking and credit,corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management.Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, SmithBarney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found atwww.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is one of the nation's leading retail mortgagelenders and servicers of home mortgages. As a division of Wells Fargo Bank,N.A., it has a local presence in more than 2,400 mortgage stores and bankbranches, plus the capabilities to serve the home financing needs of customersnationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and wholesale lendingoperations. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage services loans for more than 8 millionservicing customers.

Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital tolocal communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has afederal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to enhancethe liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankersand other lenders so that they may lend to homebuyers. In 2008, we mark our70th year of service to America's housing market. Our job is to help those whohouse America.

MyCommunityMortgage is a registered mark of Fannie Mae. Unauthorized useof this mark is prohibited.

SOURCE Fannie Mae