​The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA or Agency) was created as an independent agency by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to regulate and supervise Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (together, “Enterprises”), and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which includes the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) and its fiscal agent, the Office of Finance (OF) (collectively, the regulated entities). FHFA also supervises an affiliate of the Enterprises, Common Securitization Solutions, LLC (CSS), which acts as each Enterprise’s agent to facilitate the issuance of single-family mortgage securities. Since 2008, FHFA has also served as the conservator of the Enterprises. The Agency’s mission is to ensure that the regulated entities operate in a safe and sound manner to serve as a reliable source of liquidity and funding for the housing finance market throughout the economic cycle.

On January 21, 2011, FHFA established its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) consistent with Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). OMWI is responsible for leading the Agency’s efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (D&I), by developing and implementing standards for:

• Equal employment opportunity (EEO) and the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the Agency’s workforce, including senior management;
• Increased participation of minority- and women-owned businesses (MWOBs) in Agency programs and contracts, and standards for coordinating technical assistance to such businesses; and
• Assessing the diversity policies and practices of the regulated entities.

FHFA is among eight federal financial agencies, seven of which are collectively referred to as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) agencies, that the Dodd-Frank Act requires to submit an annual report to Congress containing the following information:

• A statement of the total amounts paid by the Agency to contractors since the previous report;
• The percentage of the amounts paid to contractors that are MWOBs;
• The successes achieved and challenges faced by the Agency in operating minority and women outreach programs;
• The challenges the Agency may face in hiring minority and women employees and contracting with qualified MWOBs; and
• Any other information, findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative or Agency action, as the OMWI Director determines appropriate.