Policy and Regulation

The administration faces a slew of immediate financial policy tasks, such as passing a new round of small-business aid, charting a course for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and filling vacant agency leadership posts.

Upcoming changes to underwriting regulations, as well as the end of the QM patch, in addition to growing home values, all add up for this market to have a good year.

The nominees, strongly backed by progressive Democrats to lead two key Wall Street watchdogs, signal that the Biden administration is planning tough oversight after four years of light-touch policies under appointees of President Trump.

The FHFA and Treasury will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold more capital as part of the Trump administration's plans to release the companies from conservatorship. But it is unclear whether the incoming Biden administration will keep the mortgage giants on the same reform path.

Some of the world’s biggest banks are urging a U.S. judge not to immediately terminate Libor after a group of borrowers filed suit claiming the benchmark was the work of a “price-fixing cartel.”

The agency that supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has pushed for revising an agreement with the Treasury Department allowing the mortgage giants to retain their profits. A deal could be out of reach once Joe Biden takes office.

Now that Democrats have won control of the Senate following the Georgia runoffs, experts say tax increases, progressive regulators and stricter congressional oversight await. Still, there could be some positives for banks, too.

The regulator's demands for ending the action were excessive, Ocwen claimed.

A panel appointed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Congress should consider authorizing the bureau — and not the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to issue federal charters to fintech companies.

The CFPB issued two rulemakings in 2020 that the financial services industry and consumer advocates hoped would finally clarify key issues over how collectors contact debtors and deal with legacy debts. But both sides want the incoming Biden administration to make further changes.