“Conforming” refers to a conforming loan, a mortgage eligible to be purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) integral to the mortgage market in the U.S. These standards include a minimum credit score and maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, loan limit and other requirements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy loans from mortgage lenders to create mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for the secondary mortgage market.