Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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The agency confirmed that loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can continue avoiding debt-to-income limits as the bureau completes a revamp of the Qualified Mortgage standard.
October 20 -
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.
October 8 -
Kathy Kraninger’s job status would be in question if Joe Biden wins the White House. If the president is reelected, she may continue balancing a deregulatory agenda with her unexpectedly tough stance on enforcement.
October 2 -
The bureau released a five-year review of the so-called TRID regulation that found consumers benefited from being able to compare mortgage terms and costs, but the price tag for the industry was roughly $146 per loan.
October 1 -
Through Operation Corrupt Collector, the bureau is coordinating with over 50 other state and federal agencies to target firms for wrongdoing and inform consumers of their rights
September 29 -
The agency’s report on mortgage data submitted by lenders identified persistent disparities between white borrowers and minorities in denial rates and pricing. Some observers say the bureau should have been more explicit as the nation wrestles with systemic racism.
September 24 -
The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fed’s supervisory regime for the biggest financial institutions, reform of the Community Reinvestment Act and a host of other industry-related issues are on the ballot this November.
September 17 -
The financial industry has praised the measured approach taken in a pending regulation on permitted communications with consumers. But two recent complaints by the bureau against debt collectors reflect a potentially aggressive enforcement stance.
September 11 -
The agency’s plan to extend the "qualified mortgage" stamp of approval to more loans could help lenders that rely on alternative data and cushion the blow of other QM changes for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
September 2 -
The California plan to create a new, tougher state regulatory agency is at the finish line after lawmakers agreed to key exemptions for banks while maintaining strong enforcement measures for payday lenders and other firms.
September 1
