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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A new CFPB rule will expedite the forbearance and loss-mitigation process for consumers suffering financial hardship from the pandemic.
June 23 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to change the definition of what constitutes a qualified mortgage from a 43% debt-to-income limit to a price-based threshold, and further extend a temporary exemption given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
June 22 -
A lawsuit filed Tuesday argues that the bureau's establishment of the panel looking into regulatory changes violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
June 16 -
As revenue-starved retailers fall further behind on rent payments, landlords' cash flow will be strained, and defaults on commercial real estate loans could rise.
June 10 -
One criticism of the CARES Act is that it provides relief only to borrowers with government-backed loans. Bills in New York and California would cover the remaining 30% of homeowners.
June 4 -
The rescue bill enabled banks to protect loans in forbearance from an immediate hit to a borrower’s credit report, but experts say affected consumers may have trouble getting loans after the pandemic ends.
June 1 -
Forecasts about the pandemic's impact on the mortgage market have grown less dire after forbearance requests by homeowners nearly leveled off in the first half of May.
May 26 -
The templates are meant to make it easier to obtain agency approval for small-dollar loan products and to accommodate mortgage servicers that want to provide online loss mitigation options.
May 22 -
The agency has freed companies from reporting requirements and provided flexibility on exams to help them deal with COVID-19 fallout. It has also finished other regulatory relief efforts that were in the pipeline before the pandemic hit.
May 18 -
![“A growing concern for many [homeowners] is the notion that they would have to make a balloon payment at the end of the mortgage forbearance,” said CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/21bc754/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2813+0+260/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2F1a%2Fa2ee24e14f76810e720c3b08aee8%2Fkraninger-kathy-bl-031020.jpg)
The joint site describes potential strategies for both homeowners and renters economically affected by COVID-19.
May 12
![“A growing concern for many [homeowners] is the notion that they would have to make a balloon payment at the end of the mortgage forbearance,” said CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d17cefd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2813+0+260/resize/1440x810!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2F1a%2Fa2ee24e14f76810e720c3b08aee8%2Fkraninger-kathy-bl-031020.jpg)