FDIC

Depository mortgage lenders are optimistic the final version of a regulation designed to open up the flood insurance market will make it easier for them to comply with a rule requiring them to accept private carrier policies.

The comptroller of the currency also addressed, in his role as acting FHFA head, whether Congress or the Trump administration will spearhead GSE reform.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lael Brainard said public comments demonstrate a desire among stakeholders for reforms to be implemented consistently across the Fed, OCC and FDIC.

As suspense builds over which firm will be the first to seek the special-purpose charter, a side discussion has emerged over which financial services sector has the most to gain — or lose — from the new option.

The agencies are weighing a plan to reduce the scope of residential real estate transactions requiring an appraisal, but appraisers have warned that the proposal could have consequences.

A proposal issued over a year ago by federal banking agencies to simplify risk-based capital rules and ease compliance burdens for community banks has still not been finalized, and mortgage brokers and bankers are calling on them to do just that.

A proposal allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals could remove a hurdle to quick closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage.

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams questioned whether regulators and banks are fully capturing the emerging risks of a new shadow banking system.

The move allows the New York multifamily lender to make more loans without having to raise capital.