Mission Index & Social Bond Program FAQ

The Mission Index is the Enterprises’ aligned and enhanced disclosure that provides insights into mission-oriented lending activities underlying our Single-Family mortgage-backed securities (MBS). It scores each Single-Family MBS the Enterprises issue on ten criteria, focusing on income, borrower, and property attributes that align to many of our statutory affordable housing responsibilities or other important mission goals. The Mission Index serves as the foundation for Enterprise-aligned Single-Family Social Bonds. These bonds offer investors the ability to invest in Single-Family MBS featuring high concentrations of loans consistent with our mission and Duty to Serve goals. In turn, investor demand for these MBS may result in lenders focusing more on lending to those same populations.

Freddie Mac encourages lenders to continue to serve the borrowers and communities which the Mission Index and Social MBS Program are intended to support.

Every loan acquired by Freddie Mac, whether through our Cash Window or through our Guarantor path, is reviewed to determine if it meets one or more of the ten mission criteria and to calculate a loan-level score that reflects the number of mission criteria satisfied. The corresponding pools are assigned a Mission Criteria Share (MCS) value which represents the percentage of loans within the pool that meet at least one of the ten mission criteria. The pool is also assigned a Mission Density Score (MDS) which represents the average of the loan-level scores for the pool.

No, the criteria are established as part of the Mission Index framework. Although the adaptable design allows the criteria to be adjusted, added, or removed over time as conditions change, we will strive to adjust the Index no more frequently than every 24 months. Advance notice will be provided ahead of any planned updates.

The new name applies to all Single-Family MBS pools, outstanding and new issuance, beginning with March 2024 issuance.

The updated formulation (Mission Index v1.1) apply to all pools for Freddie Mac beginning with June 2024 issuances and for Fannie Mae beginning with March 2024 issuances. Previously issued pools – scored under Mission Index v1.0 -- will not be re-scored.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae began to assign labels to Single-Family MBS meeting the social bond criteria in June 2024.

Second homes receive a score of 0 across all criteria (and by extension, 0 for the aggregate loan-level Mission Score). They are NOT counted when determining an individual pool’s eligibility to receive MDS and MCS disclosures (pools with nine or fewer loans receive masked scores of 7s). Seasoned loans (aged more than 12 months at acquisition) receive a score of 0 across all criteria and ARE counted when determining MDS and MCS disclosure eligibility (only second homes are excluded from the loan count; seasoned loans are INCLUDED).

Yes, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae worked closely, and in alignment with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to evolve the Mission Index based on market feedback. The Enterprises are aligned in the Mission Index disclosures and the Social Bond Framework.

Yes. However, for a small population of loans, there are instances where there may be differences in the Mission Index score due to tool variances. For example, the rounding approach to determine the percent of the area median income may be different between Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae tools. Geocoding of new construction properties may also be identified differently in tools.

Submitting incomplete and/or inaccurate data used for determining Mission Index scores will impact the scoring of loans. To help ensure accurate Mission Index scoring, Sellers should check the data related to:

• Percent area median income (AMI)
• Income
• First-time homebuyer
• Property address
• Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP)