DUS Lenders
Complete guide to Fannie Mae's Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) program and the lenders that make it work.
Source: Fannie Mae 2025 DUS Rankings (Feb 4, 2026). Last updated: 2026-04-21.
2025 Volume
~$74B
Fannie Mae multifamily production
Approved Lenders
~24
Active DUS lenders
Top Lender
$8.95B
Walker & Dunlop, #1 for 7th year
What is a DUS lender?
Fannie Mae's DUS® program is one of the largest sources of multifamily financing in the United States. In 2025, approximately $74 billion in Fannie Mae multifamily production - virtually all of it originated through DUS lenders - flowed through a network of approximately 24 approved DUS lenders.
DUS stands for Delegated Underwriting and Servicing. DUS lenders are pre-approved firms that underwrite, close, and service multifamily mortgages on Fannie Mae's behalf. Delegation means these lenders can close loans without prior Fannie Mae loan-level review, which compresses timelines and gives borrowers a single point of contact from origination through payoff.
DUS lenders share credit risk with Fannie Mae. Under the standard pari passu arrangement, the lender bears approximately one-third (33.33%) of any losses and Fannie Mae bears the remaining two-thirds. That risk share is the core alignment of interests that lets the program delegate underwriting at scale.
Top DUS Lenders by 2025 Volume
Fannie Mae's 2025 top 10 DUS producers, announced February 4, 2026. Specialty badges mark lenders that also placed in a Top 5 specialized category (Affordable Housing, Structured Transactions, Small Loans, or Manufactured Housing).
The top 10 DUS lenders originated approximately $52.49B, or 71%, of Fannie Mae's 2025 multifamily volume.
See full profiles and 2025 rankings for the top 10 DUS lenders →
How the DUS Program Works
Delegated authority
DUS lenders underwrite, close, and deliver multifamily loans without prior loan-level review by Fannie Mae. Delegation removes the back-and-forth approval step that slows non-agency execution.
The trade-off is credit discipline. DUS lenders adhere to Fannie Mae's underwriting standards and are subject to ongoing credit review and monitoring. If a lender's credit culture slips, Fannie Mae can limit delegated authority or revoke approval.
Risk sharing
The standard loss-sharing arrangement is pari passu: the DUS lender bears approximately 33.33% of any loss on unpaid principal balance, and Fannie Mae bears the remaining 66.67%. The split applies proportionally to each loss rather than in first-loss or waterfall structure.
Because the lender's own capital is at stake on every loan, risk sharing aligns origination incentives with loan performance. Other modified loss-sharing structures exist for specific executions, but pari passu remains the default across the bulk of DUS production.
Life-of-loan servicing
DUS lenders service loans for the full term rather than transferring servicing after sale. Borrowers interact with the same institution from origination through payoff, which matters during asset management events like tenant turnover, capital improvements, or workouts.
Continuity also matters at the MBS level. Fannie Mae began securitizing DUS loans as DUS Mortgage-Backed Securities in 1994. The lender's ongoing servicing responsibility ties them to the loan long after the MBS has traded.
DUS Loan Basics
Loan terms
- Term length: 5 to 30 years; most common are 5, 7, 10, 12, and 15 years.
- Amortization: up to 30 years.
- Interest-only: available, partial-term or full-term.
- Rate types: fixed-rate and adjustable-rate options.
Loan sizes
- DUS minimum: approximately $3 million.
- Small Loan program: $750,000 to $6 million (overlaps DUS in the $3M to $6M band).
- Maximum: no stated cap.
Conventional terms at a glance
- Maximum LTV: 80% (conventional market-rate).
- Minimum DSCR: 1.25x (conventional market-rate).
Affordable housing, small loans, seniors housing, and manufactured housing communities have product-specific LTV and DSCR requirements that vary by execution.
Prepayment
- Yield maintenance is the standard prepayment premium.
- The YM premium is typically the greater of 1% of the prepayment amount, or a figure based on remaining yield maintenance period and current Treasury yields.
- Defeasance is available for certain executions.
- Declining (stepdown) prepayment is also offered.
- Yield maintenance typically expires approximately 6 months before loan maturity, at which point prepayment is open without premium.
Recourse
- DUS loans are non-recourse by default.
- Standard bad-boy carve-outs cover fraud, voluntary bankruptcy, misappropriation of rents, waste, environmental violations, SPE breach, and unauthorized transfers or liens.
- Key principals sign an “exceptions to non-recourse” guaranty that triggers personal liability only for the enumerated carve-out events.
Eligible Properties
- Minimum units: 5.
- Stabilization: typically 90% occupancy for 90 days.
Eligible property types:
- Conventional apartments — market-rate multifamily properties with 5 or more units.
- Affordable multifamily — LIHTC and other Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) executions.
- Seniors housing — independent living and assisted living.
- Student housing — purpose-built or mixed-use subject to concentration limits.
- Manufactured housing communities — MHC properties meeting DUS program requirements.
- Cooperatives — through the Small Loan or DUS execution.
- Military housing — concentration-dependent, per program rules.
DUS by the Numbers (2025)
Total 2025 Volume
~$74B
Virtually all DUS
Affordable Housing
$8.3B
+31% YoY
Structured Transactions
$7.1B
+8.6% YoY
Small Loans
$5.9B
+26% YoY
Manufactured Housing
$1.9B
+49.4% YoY
Approved Lenders
~24
DUS network
Program Launched
1988
April 4, 1988
DUS MBS Began
1994
Securitization start
Source: Fannie Mae press release, February 4, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does DUS stand for?
DUS stands for Delegated Underwriting and Servicing. It is Fannie Mae's flagship multifamily lending program, launched in 1988.
How many DUS lenders are there?
Fannie Mae has approximately 24 approved DUS lenders as of 2025. The list updates periodically as lenders are approved or consolidate.
Who is the largest DUS lender?
Walker & Dunlop was Fannie Mae's largest DUS lender in 2025 with $8.95 billion in production - their seventh consecutive year at #1.
Are DUS loans recourse or non-recourse?
DUS loans are non-recourse by default. Key principals sign an 'exceptions to non-recourse' guaranty that triggers personal liability only for specified carve-out events such as fraud, waste, environmental violations, and unauthorized transfers.
What is yield maintenance on a DUS loan?
Yield maintenance is the standard prepayment premium on DUS loans. The premium is typically the greater of 1% of the prepayment amount or a figure based on the remaining yield maintenance period and current Treasury yields. Yield maintenance usually expires approximately six months before loan maturity, at which point prepayment is open without premium.
What is the minimum DUS loan size?
The minimum standard DUS loan size is approximately $3 million. Fannie Mae's Small Loan program covers loans from $750,000 to $6 million, with some overlap in the $3 million to $6 million range.
How is a DUS loan different from a bank CRE loan?
DUS loans are non-recourse by default (with standard bad-boy carve-outs). They offer longer terms - up to 30 years - and are assumable subject to lender approval. Specific bank loan features vary by institution and borrower.
Explore DUS Financing
Sources
- Fannie Mae 2025 DUS Press Release (Feb 4, 2026) — fanniemae.com
- Fannie Mae DUS Program Overview — capitalmarkets.fanniemae.com
- Fannie Mae Multifamily Guide — mfguide.fanniemae.com
- Walker & Dunlop 2025 DUS Press Release (Feb 9, 2026) — walkerdunlop.com