Policy and Regulation

Maybe political winds or another downturn will spark housing finance reform. But 10 years after the conservatorships began, the companies are still in perpetual limbo.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

The committee approved the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite strong Democratic opposition, as well as President Trump's picks for Ginnie Mae, the Export-Import Bank and several other positions.

Several states pledged to compensate for a slowdown in enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Mick Mulvaney, but their efforts have been complicated by tight budgets and doubts over whether such initiatives are necessary.

New investor appetite for mortgages over $1 million is motivating more nonbank lenders to offer super jumbo loans, often with weaker credit terms than traditional banks.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., released a survey of lending practices that he said point to practices such as forced arbitration clauses and extracting a customer’s credit score to determine creditworthiness.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.

The investors initially won the right to sue as a group in 2015 before an appeals court reversed the ruling; the $13 billion lawsuit can now proceed as a class action.

The regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises has substantial authority to intervene as a legislative stalemate continues.

The bureau is expected to choose an option that could trigger court challenges after a judge yet again refused to halt the rule’s compliance date.