[Decision Concerning BPA Employees' Claims for Reimbursement of Loan Origination Fees]

GAO considered five Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) employees' claims for reimbursement of loan origination fees pursuant to their real estate purchases at new duty stations. GAO held that: (1) BPA could reimburse the employees for loan origination fees paid to mortgage brokers that did not exceed the customary fees charged by lending institutions in their residential areas; (2) the fees were for actual administrative services rendered during the loan application process; (3) the fees were not for services duplicated by lending institutions; (4) since one claimant's fee exceeded the customary fee charged by the lending institution in his locality, he was not entitled to reimbursement for the additional amount; (5) finders and commitment fees paid by another claimant were not reimbursable; and (6) BPA could reimburse a claimant his full origination fee even though he used a portion of the loan to pay prepaid finance charges. Accordingly, the claims were allowed in part and denied in part.