USDA Expands Delegated Authority Pilot for Rural Housing Guaranteed Loans: Six More Lenders Join December 1
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development on October 22 announced the expansion of the Delegated Authority Lender Interactive Test Environment (LITE) Pilot Program for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, selecting six additional lenders to participate: Bangor Savings Bank; Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation; New American Funding, LLC; PennyMac Loan Services, LLC; Pulte Mortgage; and Union Home Mortgage Corporation. The six lenders will begin participating on December 1, 2026.
The pilot streamlines the mortgage lending process by allowing approved lenders to assume full responsibility for closing USDA home loans within regulatory guidelines. USDA Rural Development delegates the pre-closing approval requirement to the approved pilot lender with minimal agency involvement, which the department said enables lenders to close mortgage loans more quickly and reduces the government's time and resource needs.
Rural Housing Service Administrator George Kelly said that under President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, expanding the pilot will accelerate USDA lending while maintaining strong underwriting standards, with approved lenders taking greater responsibility for loan origination and approval, reducing delays and helping more rural borrowers achieve homeownership.
Through the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, Rural Development provides approved lenders the ability to offer 100 percent financed, no money-down loans to eligible low- and moderate-income households in rural areas, with USDA backing a 90 percent loan guarantee. With a guaranteed loan, homebuyers can buy an existing home, build a new one, or cover the cost of rehabilitating, improving or relocating a home.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的农业部总部 Jamie L. Whitten Building（USDA 图，Lance Cheung 摄，公共领域，Wikimedia Commons）
