Regulatory reform

The launch of a combined securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is meant to ease the transition to a new housing finance system. But questions remain about how the mortgage sphere will adapt to the single security.

The industry continues to push for an overhaul of the bureau’s leadership structure, but both parties seem uninterested.

The agency's spring rulemaking agenda includes the process for collecting small-business data as well as underwriting rules for GSE-backed loans. But what's missing from the list may be just as important.

Kathy Kraninger, the bureau's director, is in a standoff with Democrats about her claim that the agency cannot supervise institutions under the Military Lending Act.

All Democrats supported the bill focused on the decisions of former acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, while all Republicans opposed it.

Mark Calabria said he wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take preliminary steps by Jan. 1 toward exiting conservatorship.

His administration is looking at different alternatives to reform the housing finance system.

In his first public policy speech as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria stressed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have to raise significant capital via a public offering and take other steps in order to escape government control.

Brian Johnson, a Republican political appointee at the CFPB, has been named the agency's deputy director, the No. 2 job behind Director Kathy Kraninger.

The long-awaited proposal includes safe harbors to protect collectors from getting sued, but would restrict phone collection attempts and allow borrowers to opt out of receiving other communications.

As the central bank board proceeds with reforms easing the post-crisis regulatory regime, the Obama-appointed governor has not shied from opposing the agency’s course.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed steps to ease Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements, just days after announcing it was retiring a platform to let users analyze raw mortgage data.

The head of the central bank declined to provide more specifics on efforts to simplify the ban on banks’ proprietary trading.

Director Kathy Kraninger said the agency will emphasize a confidential supervisory process instead of just doling out public enforcement actions. But skeptics worry this will let companies escape punishment.

New FHFA Director Mark Calabria isn't just charting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also fixing problems resulting from the "qualified mortgage" exemption for the GSEs and taking a "deep dive" into problems in the mortgage servicing market.

The rule requires disclosure of exact fees but institutions can estimate pricing under an exception that will expire in 2020. The CFPB is seeking comment to prepare for that deadline.

Under a new policy, a company subject to a civil investigative demand will learn from the agency about what conduct the probe is targeting and what legal provisions the firm may have violated.

The administration official will serve a five-year term as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's chief regulator.

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York signaled which legislative provisions Democratic leaders would accept in a bipartisan housing finance package.

The proposed rollback of underwriting requirements for small-dollar lenders could redefine a legal doctrine that governs rules affecting other companies as well.