Regulatory reform

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting said reform of Community Reinvestment Act regulations is a "key element" of how regulators aim to recalibrate rules a decade after the financial crisis.

As a bipartisan regulatory relief bill approaches the finish line in the Senate, the House has mostly stood on the sidelines. But no one expects the lower chamber to just rubber-stamp the deal.

The Supreme Court dealt hedge funds and other big investors a blow Tuesday by refusing to revive core parts of lawsuits that challenged the federal government’s capture of billions of dollars in profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite a legislative push by some senators and other stakeholders to jump-start housing finance reform, efforts to form consensus over a bill once again are stuck in neutral.

Lenders should be encouraged to hold more credit risk in the mortgage market, rather than having it foisted on Fannie and Freddie.

Housing finance reformers are pushing full steam ahead to get a bill introduced before the political calendar makes passage nearly impossible.

The acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can utilize "look-backs" of mortgage servicing and underwriting rules to push for significant changes.

Many in the industry applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new mission statement shifting the agency's focus away from using enforcement actions as a substitute for rules of the road.

Senate negotiators are working on a bill that would place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership and replace them with multiple mortgage guarantors, according to sources.

Housing regulators should not adopt an alternative credit scoring model until the banking industry is on board.