Compliance

Many big banks are backing away from the retail channel and FHA lending due to rising compliance costs. But U.S. Bank Home Mortgage President Tom Wind sees an opportunity to leverage those challenges to improve efficiency and transparency.

John Allison, a contender for President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury secretary, is a staunch opponent of the Federal Reserve Board, the Basel international accords, the government's support of the housing finance industry and the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.

With the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. and an increasingly isolationist mood pervading European banking regulators, the international Basel III accords that underpinned much of the global post-crisis regulatory framework face an uncertain future.

The election results will only intensify factors making competition with bank lenders more difficult, including the effect of interest rates as well as the regulatory environment.

Tom Wind is once again leading a large bank's mortgage operation. As the new president of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, he's set a course that embraces retail, regulation and the FHA.

The Pennsylvania company has redoubled its outreach to low- and moderate-income consumers by partnering with Operation Hope on a down payment assistance program and naming a veteran banker to the newly created post of director of fair and responsible banking. But despite these efforts, history says Fulton is unlikely to escape punishment if the Justice Department finds that it violated fair-lending laws.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's choice to raise conforming loan limits in 2016 for the first time in a decade is being met with enthusiasm from the mortgage industry, as it should prove to be a positive for future origination volume.

The maximum baseline conforming loan limit in 2017 is being increased to $424,100 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Former BB&T Chief Executive John Allison is a late entrant on a short-list for the job of U.S. Treasury secretary, according to two people familiar with President-elect Donald Trump's selection process.

The multifamily lending caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will stay the same as they were in 2016 next year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced.