Compliance & Regulation

1st Alliance Lending plans to cut up to 35 employees in Connecticut and terminate efforts to expand its East Hartford headquarters in order to prepare for an expected increase in regulatory costs.

The changes mandated by the recent regulatory relief law would narrow the definition of "high-volatility commercial real estate" exposures that get a higher risk weight.

Though Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney tried unsuccessfully to strip the agency's fair lending office of its enforcement powers earlier this year, he insisted this week that the bureau "is still in the fair lending business."

In its proposed “disclosure sandbox,” the bureau has eased restrictions on firms seeking a safe harbor from liability.

A decade after the credit crisis, investors are returning to where it all began. The mortgage sector, blamed in large part for the near-collapse of the global financial system, is now seen by many as a high-quality market forged by fire.

The agency’s director has been under pressure to quit as he is investigated for sexual harassment allegations, but an agency spokesperson says he still plans to testify at a housing finance hearing slated for later this month.

NMI Holdings is laying the groundwork for President Claudia Merkle to replace CEO Bradley Shuster next year.

The federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was never supposed to be permanent. Leaving the situation unresolved keeps the agencies undercapitalized and taxpayers exposed to their risk.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposal Wednesday that would require mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to align their policies on cash flows for current mortgage-backed securities, and eventually for a uniform security when it is implemented next year.

Regulators will continue to issue guidance to articulate general views on appropriate practices, but they will not issue enforcement actions based on violations.