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.

Party polarization and racial equity issues make it tougher for trade groups to manage internal divisions while ensuring the field supports those who get their hands on the levers of power.

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.”

Evidence suggests some minority-owned businesses can’t access loans, and the Trump administration is under pressure to report borrower demographics. The issue is gaining attention against the backdrop of protests over the George Floyd killing.

The central bank is only now nearing the launch of the credit facilities after the effort was announced in April. But Chairman Jerome Powell said loans have been available through other means.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed an overhaul of an Obama-era rule meant to guide local jurisdictions in how they comply with the Fair Housing Act.

The two Democrats sent a letter “raising grave concerns about whether the bureau is fulfilling its statutory obligations.”

Despite assurances by Director Kathy Kraninger that the agency is cracking down on discrimination, it hasn't sent a Department of Justice referral on a fair-lending violation in two years.

Eric Blankenstein, who resigned from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in May after the discovery of his racially charged writings, was named acting executive vice president of Ginnie Mae.

The CFPB did not file any fair-lending enforcement actions in the 2018 fiscal year and did not refer any Equal Credit Opportunity Act violations to the Department of Justice.