Policy News from National Mortgage News

Employers hired an additional 115,000 workers in April, while unemployment remained unchanged at 4.3%. Despite the positive headline figure, a spike in newly unemployed workers and a rising number of underemployed workers suggests instability under the surface.

The Treasury Department held a high-stakes huddle with state insurance officials to discuss risks associated with the rapid growth of private credit in the economy and whether those investments could pose systemic vulnerabilities.

The new law, which will mandate the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve or deny loan applications within 30 days, passed with wide bipartisan support.

Life insurers' borrowings from the Federal Home Loan banks has increased in recent years, raising concerns about opaque, private credit investments and how it intersects with the Federal Home Loan banks' housing mission.

A New York bank says the regulator's rejection last fall is preventing it from keeping up with local nonbank lenders deploying cash-offer products.

A rule change requiring trial modifications before other loss-mitigation options is creating workflow and liquidity challenges, especially for smaller servicers without deep resources.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said Tuesday that the U.S. energy sector is more insulated from shocks than Europe's, particularly in natural gas prices. However, he warned that the war is pushing up gasoline prices, which could spill over into other parts of the economy.

Market watchers think Jerome Powell will maintain a low-key presence on the Fed board as he awaits the release of an inspector general report examining cost overruns at the central bank's headquarters.

Even as they continue to press for additional changes, banks get some wins from the revised Basel capital framework and a ballpark estimate of their capital outlook for the next few years.

A federal judge harshly criticized the settlement of a civil suit between the Department of Justice and a Texas land developer.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday that he would remain on the Fed board after his term as chair expires next month, resolving the last and most significant open question about his departure and the onset of Kevin Warsh's leadership at the central bank.

President Biden had issued a rule in 2024 requiring newly constructed homes to abide by an energy mandate to be eligible for FHA- or USDA-backed mortgages.

Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve passed through the Senate Banking committee in a party-line vote.

State mortgage regulators are increasingly treating supervision as enforcement, imposing large fines even when companies fix issues quickly, writes the head of public policy at NewRez.

The Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting — likely Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's last — is unanimously expected to keep interest rates steady, but questions about energy, inflation and the upcoming transition in leadership still loom.

A dv01 paper finds while no one single cause exists and elements like the lack of transportation infrastructure make a return to historic affordability unlikely.

Alongside a bill that gives homeowners a year of forbearance after state-declared emergencies, lawmakers will consider extending wildfire-related moratoriums.

Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor encouraged the real estate industry to reconsider advice received from DEI experts.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said on Sunday that he no longer opposes Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve following the Justice Department's announced closure of its inquiry into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The office, which follows the state's criminalization of the white-collar fraud, will flag suspicious property filings and improve data-sharing across agencies.