On February 11, Freddie Mac issued a bulletin announcing significant updates to its servicing and loss mitigation policies for mortgage servicers, with those loss mitigation changes effective May 1. The revised guidelines require that forbearance plans be offered in increments of one to three months, while maintaining existing delinquency limits and cumulative terms. The bulletin also clarified disaster loss mitigation procedures, including new requirements for forbearance extensions and eligibility for modification programs following eligible disasters. Servicers must now classify borrower hardships as temporary or permanent, assess hardship status and repayment ability, and select appropriate workout options, with streamlined eligibility standards and expanded short sale options for borrowers intending to sell or vacate properties.

Additionally, the bulletin mandated that servicers report all repayment plans and forbearance agreements through its Resolve platform by October 1, eliminating separate reporting requirements. The bulletin included additional updates to quality control review processes, fraud reporting standards, and information security requirements — including a new definition of “Freddie Mac Critical Data” and new requirements concerning business impact analyses effective January 1, 2027.