IMFPubs SSJ REDACTED.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION

PROCEDURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), the following facts and rationale justifies the basis for a noncompetitive contract.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. FHFA intends to award a sole source single award Indefinite-Delivery / Indefinite Quantity contract to Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, Inc. (IMFPubs), 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1000, Bethesda, MD 20814-7019. The anticipated ordering period of the contract is five years from date of award.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs. FHFA requires access to established newsletters that features stories on key trends of the mortgage industry as well as special statistical reports.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), FAR 13.501(a)

5. A demonstration that the proposed Contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited (for sole source acquisitions; also required for unusual and compelling urgency where more than one offer will not be solicited). IMFPubs owns and

1. I recommend that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) use other than full and open competition for the renew and/or purchase of individual subscriptions to various newsletters and data subscriptions as shown below.

The total maximum quantity of all services under the resultant contract is $1.7M over the life of the contract, which is five years.

• Inside Mortgage Finance

• Inside MBS & ABS

• Inside The GSEs

• Inside Nonconforming Markets

• Inside Mortgage Trends

• Inside the CFPB

• Inside FHA/VA Lending

• Mortgage Market Update

• Mortgage Market Statistical Annual (data subscription)

• IMF (data subscription) publishes, and owns the copyrights, of these newsletters and data products.

The information published in IMFPubs’ newsletters is collected through their proprietary lender survey and they maintain a proprietary database. IMFPubs also uses publicly available resources such as SEC filings, call reports, etc.

IMFPubs’ copyrights cover the newsletters and the analysis provided along with the way the data are presented. Though IMFPubs does not own the data except what they collect through their surveys, there is no other publisher in the commercial space that provides what IMFPubs produces on the mortgage finance industry, which includes data on mortgage loan originations and servicing, including subprime data, home-equity lending and extensive statistics on loan securitization and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), all gathered in one place.

IMFPubs’ publications include coverage of legislative, political and regulatory issues, as well as industry news, trends, analysis and exclusive statistics and rankings. Some of the newsletters cover issues related to the GSEs, the mortgage- and asset-backed securities markets, the non-agency nonconforming market, mortgage insurance, servicing, Dodd-Frank Act, technology innovations, profitable operations, e-commerce, and other regulatory issues. In short, these unique publications provide information and analysis that is highly relevant to FHFA’s mission and is not available from any other sources.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. GSA Schedules were consulted;

however, these subscriptions are not available on GSA. This requirement was publicized on December 13, 2022, as required by FAR 5.2 on the Contract Opportunities Website (www.SAM.GOV).

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer will use historical data from previous purchases and published prices to determine that the price is fair and reasonable.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. The Contracting Officer consulted GSA and also the SAM.GOV Website. During the market research the Contracting Officer discovered that other financial agencies (Bureau of Fiscal Services, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) have purchased one or more of these subscriptions on a non-competitive basis. On December 13, 2022, a Notice of Intent to Sole Source this requirement was posted on the Contract Opportunities Website (www.SAM) and no responses were received.

http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.sam/

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition. None

10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. No other sources expressed an interest in this acquisition.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. FHFA will continue to review with established publications to promote competition on any subsequent acquisitions for similar supplies or services.

CERTIFICATIONS

I certify that this justification is accurate and contains complete data necessary to support the recommendation for other than full and open competition.

12-30-2022 /s/ Date REDACTED

Contracting Officer’s Representative Office of Budget & Financial Management

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief. Also, I hereby (1) determine the circumstances cited as the statutory authority apply to this action, (2) determine the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable, and (3) recommend approval for this action.

12-30-2022 /s/ Date Carmen G. Rios

Contracting Officer

I determine that this submission is legally sufficient to justify the basis for a noncompetitive contract award.

01-03-2023 /s/ Date REDACTED

Associate General Counsel Office of General Counsel

Senior Procurement Executive Approval

12-31-2023 /s/ Date Kevin Klekner

Senior Procurement Executive

Contracting Activity Competition Advocate

01-03-2023 /s/ Date REDACTED

Competition Advocate