On December 9, the FHFA, in connection with its fulfillment of the ‘Strategic Plan for Enterprise Conservatorships,’ directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise their guarantee fees in three separate components: (i) increase the base (or ongoing) fee by 10 basis points; (ii) update the upfront grid to better align pricing with the credit risk characteristics of the borrower; and (iii) eliminate the upfront 25 basis point adverse market fee except in the four states where foreclosure carrying costs are more than two standard deviations greater than the national average.  For loans exchanged for MBS, the price changes will be effective starting April 1, 2014.  For loans sold for cash, the price changes will be effective starting March 1, 2014.  FHFA Release.