Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
-
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.
October 8 -
Kathy Kraninger’s job status would be in question if Joe Biden wins the White House. If the president is reelected, she may continue balancing a deregulatory agenda with her unexpectedly tough stance on enforcement.
October 2 -
The bureau released a five-year review of the so-called TRID regulation that found consumers benefited from being able to compare mortgage terms and costs, but the price tag for the industry was roughly $146 per loan.
October 1 -
The financial industry has praised the measured approach taken in a pending regulation on permitted communications with consumers. But two recent complaints by the bureau against debt collectors reflect a potentially aggressive enforcement stance.
September 11 -
The agency’s plan to extend the "qualified mortgage" stamp of approval to more loans could help lenders that rely on alternative data and cushion the blow of other QM changes for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
September 2 -
The California plan to create a new, tougher state regulatory agency is at the finish line after lawmakers agreed to key exemptions for banks while maintaining strong enforcement measures for payday lenders and other firms.
August 31 -
Lenders initially won't be able to pass on the cost of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's "adverse market fee" to borrowers whose rates on GSE-backed mortgages and refinances are already locked in.
August 20 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the proposal would increase access to credit, but consumer groups argue that it will encourage lenders to make high-cost loans while protecting them from legal liability.
August 18 -
A proposal to expand consumer protections in the state was added to a budget bill after being dropped in June. Financial institutions say the measure conflicts with federal law and are working behind the scenes to stop it.
August 14 -
The agency sought feedback on potential changes to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. But a coalition of industry and advocacy groups want a longer comment period to afford “a greater opportunity for thoughtful public participation.”
August 10
