Policy and Regulation

The departing House Financial Services chair unveiled a bill with Democrat John Delaney to repeal Fannie and Freddie's charters and establish Ginnie Mae as a backstop.

Scott Powell, the CEO of Santander Holdings USA, has spent years contending with a host of regulatory problems. He outlined a long-range vision that includes a branch-focused retail push and possible acquisitions.

The agencies had proposed revisions designed to make compliance less complex, but banks have expressed concern that the plan could have the opposite effect.

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.