Election 2020

Following similar decisions by big banks, the Consumer Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association said they will halt all political contributions to elected officials as some lawmakers face harsh criticism for comments that incited the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The organizations renewed pledges to work with the incoming Biden administration.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has all but ruled out letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit U.S. control before he steps down, leaving it to the Biden administration to decide the fates of the mortgage giants.

The president-elect has legal backing to fire Director Kathy Kraninger thanks to a recent court ruling, but Republicans are prepared to challenge his ability to choose her successor.

Stimulus and regulatory actions are the main ways in which government policy in the wake of the elections will impact structured finance, according to Fitch Ratings. The degree to which they are affected will depend heavily on Georgia runoff elections Jan. 5.

Rates could be 50 basis points steeper than the MBA’s current projections, which anticipate the 30-year mortgage will average 3.3% next year, up from nearly 3% this year.

If Republicans keep their majority, the incoming administration will likely have to pick moderates over progressives to have any chance of getting its nominees approved.

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and KeyBank NA executive Don Graves have been tapped to examine financial regulators as part of Joe Biden’s presidential transition, according to a person familiar with the matter.

With a Democrat set to take the White House in January, the agenda for agencies like the CFPB could undergo a rapid transformation, housing finance reform could be turned on its head and progressive banking ideas that were unthinkable over the past four years could gain traction.

Private equity managers and their investors, who were concerned about progressive plans to increase taxes and regulation on their industry, are relieved the expected “blue wave” scenario that would have handed Democrats control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress now looks unlikely.